


You're in Trouble

by breath_e, SloaneSpace



Category: TAZ - Fandom, the adventure zone
Genre: F/F, Highschool AU!, M/M, Modern
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-25
Updated: 2017-09-24
Packaged: 2018-10-28 01:09:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 25,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10820568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/breath_e/pseuds/breath_e, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SloaneSpace/pseuds/SloaneSpace
Summary: She ran the length of cars across from him, catching a startled girl at the end of the row. She grinned, trying to catch her breath. “You're in trouble.” She said.The girl-from what she could tell behind the sunglasses- seemed dumbstruck. Her pink lips were parted slightly, as if she was trying to form words.“I might be.”Highschool Delinquent- and frequent drag racing vandal- Sloane lives two lives. By class time she resides as an average wallflower, but when the bell rings she's spray painting school mascots and pushing down the gas pedal on her car. Her last two years were supposed to be spent laying low and getting high with her best friends… that is until Hall Monitor Hurley steps into her rear view…





	1. Origin Story

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first TAZ fan fiction! Yay! So, I ask that you bear with me for a bit while I get the hang of writing these characters. This will be written mostly in 3rd person- with alternating viewpoints, and events happening concurrently, but written at different times, because I want to the difference between character and high school status class views. Which sounds really intricate but it just means I will be describing the same thing probably multiple times, so if it gets confusing, tell me and give me some sweet tips to fix it! I'd love to hear your feedback! Enjoy!

Hurley is almost asleep when she hears her name. She hates these things. Student Council meetings made her want to jump out the window. All it was were preps debating politics and policy. It wasn't like any actual work got done, none of the problems at school were getting fixed, Hammerhead punks still rode their skateboards in the hallways, and kids were still smoking pot in the alley and skipping class. The school was virtually an example of entropy- increasing discord and chaos. And the head of the justice branch, Captain Bane, was at a loss. Especially with the new surge of disobedience. A vandal and drag racer who called herself “The Raven” had been vandalizing the school. The lack of staff support in fixing the issue was embarrassing to say the least.   
“Hurley, are you listening?” Captain (yes that does happen to be his first name, in fact) Bane asks.  
She snaps out of her thoughts and nods. “Could you just repeat that again… so I make positive I understand?” She covers.  
He sighs. “You’re being assigned to the Raven case. Find out who she is and catch her in the act- with evidence- so we can take it to the principal.”   
“Yeah- okay.” She said and looked to her two fellow hall monitors. Not a big deal, right?

About the time Hurley heard her name was about the time Sloane found herself leaning against the wall, lighting a cigarette. She was wearing a beaten up leather jacket and a loose fitting navy tank top, grey skinny jeans and black combat heels. Her hair was tied back in an excessively long braid and she wore a navy baseball cap and sunglasses to obscure whatever features people might use to distinguish her from a crowd. Sloane didn’t particularly think she looked good in the ball cap, but considering the duffel bag next to her was full of spray paint cans, she didn’t particularly plan to meet anyone. Which is why she nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard a voice next to her.   
“Darling, you’ve got to stop blackening your lungs like that.”   
A boy wearing a distractingly large wizard’s hat leaned on the alley wall. He had on a pair of teal skinny jeans and a crop top that read “No 1 Cares” across it. The No 1 was designed to look like a perfume bottle number- which somehow increased the sass. It was none other than Taako, the school’s local 4/20 enthusiast and the only one man known to snort lemon lime gogurt through his nose while singing Call Me Maybe. He was Sloane’s best friend, which was saying something, because she was pretty antisocial in general.   
“God, you scared me.” She scowled and pulled her glasses off, taking a long drag and clipping them on her tank top. “Besides isn’t what you do almost the same?”  
He smiled, settling into place next to her. “You and I both know that pot is not the same as a cigarette. Thought you were trying to cut back.”  
“I’m down to a pack a day, which is good by my standards.” She scoffed. “Besides, I need to be alert for this, not high as a kite. How do your parents not know you smoke, you smell like Snoop Dogg threw up on you.”   
“Three words babe: Julia Childs Cookbook.”  
Sloane chuckled and put out the cigarette, crushing the last glowing embers beneath her feet and picking up her bag. She put her sunglasses on. “Are we doing this or what?” She asked, slinging the bag on her shoulder.  
“Oh hell yeah.” Taako said, following after her.

If you haven’t surmised yet, the Goldcliff High School doesn’t have the best administration. The Principal mainly lets the Student Council handle all their own affairs, including student discipline, which usually works out okay, but student behavior never changes. Don’t get me wrong, it functions like any normal school would, but the investigation into catching hooligans is the job of the hall monitors. Hurley and her two other hall monitors- Benji and Clarisse- were at a disadvantage, but they still understood the basic ways to catch someone from watching crime shows. Look at the evidence.  
“So, what did Captain Bane give us on The Raven?” she asked as they walked towards the schools exit, the two in tow. Benji was short for a junior, taller than Hurley, but still- most people were taller than her. He had dark eyes and darker hair that curled around his ears and the nape of his neck. He had olive skin, and seemed almost Grecian. He was attractive by conventional standards, but she didn't really… swing that way. Clarisse would be more her speed, if their relationship wasn't so weird. Any conversations they had was based on hall monitor duties. She was shorter that Hurley, a feat in itself. Clarisse seemed to be solely focused on one thing- justice. She had thick black hair and a complexion that implied she lived underground. But she was smart. She had big eyes that darted around like a hawk’s- taking in details and saving everything. Which is why she'd been given The intel file on the Raven.   
“According to Captain Bane, there's not much he can give us. She's almost invisible.” Clarisse said. She had a low voice and always sounded bored, even if she wasn't. “The only lead we have is Taako- that stoner kid? Apparently he's been seen fleeing a few of the scenes, but it's not like he could have done it, his high artistic prowess is limited to drawing penises on every whiteboard in school. But we bet he knows her. Which means his whole group probably knows too.”  
“So we talk to Taako?” Benji said.  
Hurley shook her head. “He won't give us anything. All he does is confuse people. We're better off talking to someone else. Killian?”  
“She isn't too fond of us, Hurley.” Benji said.  
“How about Carey?”  
“She's just as unwilling.” Clarisse sighed. She thumbed through the papers. “What about Sloane?”  
The three stopped.   
“Sloane?” Benji frowned, brows furrowing. “Does she even go here?”  
“Yeah.” Clarisse pulled out a paper and handed it to Hurley. “I've never heard of her either, but she looks familiar.”  
Hurley stared at the case file, a school photo of a girl with long black hair tied up in a bun and a black sweater attached to it. “She's a wall flower. Average grades, no extracurriculars. She's in my precalculus class. Seems easily swayed. We’ll talk to her tomorrow.” When she looked at the picture, Hurley felt nothing for the mousy-looking sophomore. She seemed like the kind of person who would rat out a friend. Hurley didn't like her one bit.   
The group walked out of the doors and started towards the parking lot. They saw a nonchalant Taako, and when he noticed them he let out a “Caw Caw, Motherf- Hurley! It's been a while, we should catch up, you look glowing.”   
She stared as he glanced over his shoulder and realized. He was protecting someone. “The Raven.” She whispered and he quickly turned on his heel.   
“Kick it, corvid,” He yelled, running towards a red car. Hurley chased after him. She ran the length of cars across from him, catching a startled girl at the end of the row. She grinned, trying to catch her breath. “You're in trouble.” She said.  
The girl-from what she could tell behind the sunglasses- seemed dumbstruck. Her pink lips were parted slightly, as if she was trying to form words.   
“I might be.” She settled on when Taako reached the end of the row, grabbing her arm.   
“Get a move on, Lieutenant Fucking Dan!” He said and pulled her arm. She grabbed her bag as she came to her senses and pulled away from him to run, herself.   
Hurley was frozen in place, blinking. “I might be.” Her cheeks heated up. Oh no…


	2. Magnus, Bongs, and Perfect Snogging

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I Ben edited the last chapter after we realized some of Taako's lines were OOC. So might wanna reread the Taako parts for continuity with this one, if you're interested!

Sloane remembered the last piece she’d done. Outside the gym, there was a painting of a field mouse, Goldcliff High’s mascot. She'd spray painted a raven on it, swooping down and killing the weak little mouse. Since then, she'd coined the Raven as her animal. Turned out she was actually really good at spray painting. Not to mention the rush she got from it. It was illegal- so illegal. And nothing made her blood pump like risky deeds. As she walked with Taako to the parking lot, she switched her hat to a backwards position. This was gonna be risky. She reached her target, the red car that those jocks, the Hammerheads used to drag race. Drag racing in Goldcliff was also illegal, but so uncontrollable, nobody could stop it. So they stopped trying instead. Drag racing was the other joy of Sloane’s life. She was really good at it, and usually her friends came out to watch her at the finish line. Her rivals were the Hammerheads. And in the last race, they'd done the unspeakable. They'd egged her Baby before the race. Right before. So she decided to get them back. She'd spray paint their car, and so they'd know who it was, she'd put her signature Raven all across it. They wouldn't know what was up until they'd finished football practice. She reveled in what their faces would look like. Since it was pretty risky, though, she'd decided to put Taako to work, assigning him to be look out.   
“Okay, so go to the top of the row. Call if you see anyone coming my way.” 

“We’ll probably need a signal.” He told her. “So if someone does come. I'll say something Schwarzenegger-esque and you'll love it so much, you'll cream yourself instantly.”

“That sounds dumb, just yell ‘Raven’.” She told him. 

“I'm not saying that.” He rolled his eyes. “What sound does a raven make?”

“Caw Caw.” She smirked. 

“That’s subpar but if you insist.” He said and walked off whispering, “Caw caw….”

Sloane smiled and shook her head, watching his blonde, thickly layered hair and wizard hat bob until it was out of sight. She still wasn't sure why he wore it. She set down her bag and pulled out a few cans of spray paint: black, navy and blue. She got started, feeling alone, thinking about nothing, hearing 96000 from “In The Heights” play in her head. It was kind of the same feeling, she reasoned. Sloane felt like she was on Cloud 9, like she'd won the lotto. She felt like two different people sometimes. Wallflower, stuck in the barrio, uninteresting and subtle, barely making a difference. But then, there's was the Raven- daring, rebellious. She was severe. And Sloane loved her. She had a hard time melding the two, unless she was around Taako, Carey and Killian. She was more relaxed around them. She didn't want to blend in with the scenery, and she didn't have to make an impression, she could just be Sloane. It wasn't like she hated being unnoticed (it made for a great cover), but she always felt the need to correct a teacher on a misquoted fact, or punch some homophobe in the face. Which she couldn't do without a condescending lecture and a call home. Most established rebels got off scot free because it was expected to be in their nature. She frowned at a wonky feather. Okay, less thinking, more working.

Ten minutes later, she was finishing up when she heard a faint call. What was the signal they'd decided on? She should have just told him to run back and tell her.   
“Kick it, corvid!” She heard, along with two sets of feet smacking the pavement- and getting louder. She cursed under breath and knelt down, sticking her cans in her bag. Sloane stood when the second person rounded the corner and smiled in front of her. She wore an expression that exemplified the phrase “gotcha”. Sloane was dumbstruck. She'd been caught. By a hall monitor. A cute hall monitor. She looked over Hurley as the moment seemed to stretch on. Her curly ginger hair, longer on the top and shaved on the sides, seemed so hypnotizing. Her eyes, full of fire and vigor dared her to run. She only came up to Sloane’s shoulders.  
“You're in trouble.” She teased.

Sloane felt her stomach churn and had to keep herself from audibly gasping. “I might be.” She said, before feeling Taako’s hand touch her arm. 

“Get a move on, Lieutenant Fucking Dan!” He said and pulled her arm.  
She grabbed her bag as she came to her senses and pulled away from him to run, herself. Sloane felt like staying, wanting to talk to the hall monitor. She seemed interesting. She backpedaled a few steps before turning and sprinting. She didn't hear them following and sighed in relief as they made it back to her car in the alley. Sloane slid in the first seat and Taako into the passenger side. Sloane slowly broke into a grin and and started the car. She couldn't believe she'd gotten away with it. She'd actually done it. Hurley had just let her go. She laughed out loud, bright and haughty as she pulled away from the school.

“Ragh! Can you believe this, can you actually believe this, look what she did to my car!” Magnus heard yelling in the parking lot as he headed to his own car, and recognized it as none other than Maarvey, one of his teammates and member of a rather powerful drag racing team. He sighed. He dealt with Maarvey so other people didn't have to. To protect the little guy. So he changed direction and headed towards the red car at the end of the lot.   
“Calm down, Maarvey, don't piss yourself.” He grumbled. “What's wrong?” He asked as he drew nearer to the beautiful speed demon.  
“The Raven trashed my ride.” He growled through gritted teeth.  
Indeed, as Magnus drew closer, he noticed the beautiful vehicle was indeed, vandalized, an image of a raven screeching “Suck my a “ that went obviously unfinished. He tried to suppress a chuckle. They deserved it, those big bullies.   
“We’re gonna run her off the road tomorrow.” He said absolutely, and Magnus sprung into action. The grunts behind Maarvey grinned and nodded in agreement   
“Hey, there's no need for that.” He said. “Just leave her alone. Isn't this payback? You got what was coming to you.” He told them.   
“Not today, Magnus. You're not talking me down from this one.”  
Magnus stepped forward and pulled Maarvey to him by the collar of his letterman jacket. “You're going to leave her alone. Stop picking on people who treat you like you treat them. I will be at the race tomorrow. And if you run anyone off the road… I'm coming for you.” He let go of his collar, seeing Maarvey thoroughly terrified. Without a word he walked back to his car, startling a little at the beep from the car across from. Magnus got in the front seat. Being a hero was exhausting. And hard. But he couldn't help it. The Hammerheads were bullies, and he wasn't quite sure what they meant by “run her off the road”. He just hoped he didn't have to keep bullies like them in check for much longer. Senior year seemed a lifetime away. Even it was only a year until he'd be playing his last first game. He looked at the girl sitting across from him, giving her a little wave. She looked just as tied. She smiled in a sad sort of way and started her car. Magnus rest his head on the wheel. His head hurt.

Sloane sped down the interstate that cut through their town. Music blasted through the car and Sloane yelled the lyrics as she yelled.  
“Champagne, Cocaine, Gasoline,  
And most things in between  
I roam the city in a shopping cart  
A pack of camels and a smoke alarm!”

Taako grinned over at her, turning down the radio to her dismay. “You should come over.” He said. “We could get down with the emo clown…” Taako told her in a singsong voice. “Wink, nudge.” He said as he actually winked and nudged.

“If you're implying we get high and call your boyfriend until he answers I'm gonna have to pass.” She said.

“I was implying we get high, that's always a given at my place, but instead we talk about your new girl crush.” He teased and she scoffed.

“And who might that be?”

“Hurley the Hall Monitor.”

She almost drove into the next lane, a habit from her drag racing. Surprise = pull to the left. But she regained control quickly.“Excuse me?” She said.

“Don't try and pass my gay ass with that shit.” He said. “I saw the look on your face while we were running back to the car. You looked like you were thinking about how to ask her to homecoming. Pretty soon you'll be planning a fantasy wedding By the way, can I be your Best Man?” He was casual about it, picking at the black paint on his nails. His legs were crossed and she could see the tops of his converse.

“I'm not planning our fantasy wedding!” She said defensively.

“Well you looked like you'd been hit by an arrow, right in the heart from some little winged ranger in the trees.”

“I'm burning in hell.” She mumbled. 

The song changed to some song she vaguely recognized with a pounding bass. Taako squealed in delight.   
“Forget Panic! I am living for this.” He cried. He reached for the volume knob, turning it higher.  
“Hot and dangerous  
If you're one of us, then roll with us.  
'Cause we make the hipsters fall in love  
When we've got our hot pants on and up-  
And yes of course we does  
We running this town just like a club  
And no, you don't wanna mess with us  
Got Jesus on my necklace-ace-ace.” He danced along with it, making vogue poses and putting hands on her shoulder. 

“Call Carey and Killian.” She pushed, trying to get him to at least stop dancing and turn down the music. “We can roll up with the whole gang.”

He paused his performance to pull out phone. “Not the whole gang. Lup is ‘out’.” He informed her as he dialed up Killian’s number. 

“Out?” Sloane questioned. “Doing what?”

“Shopping or something, she didn't really say.” After a few rings, Killian pick led up and Taako grinned. “Hey, drop who you're doing and get both of you to my place asap.” 

Sloane took the chance to turn the music down, but Taako’s hand shot out and turned it back up.   
“Do we need an occasion to get screwed out our minds?” He asked, pausing. “Sloane vandalized a car and met her soulmate.”

“Don't tell people that!” She said from the driver’s seat as they pulled into his neighborhood.

“Oh, she's definitely in denial.” He said. “She might as well be Cleopatra. Get it. It's a geography joke. No laughs? Y'all are cunts I'm ditching you.”

Sloane turned down into a cul-de-sac, rolling her eyes so hard, the thought they'd fall out.

“I'm not spilling everything right now, then you have no incentive to come over.” He said as they pulled into the driveway. “See you in five.” Taako got out of the car while Sloane cut the engine and opened her door. 

“Wine coolers?” She asked as she followed him to the front door.   
"Yup."He was using a key to unlock it, which was strange somehow. She was used to seeing him pick locks instead. But using the key was faster and more convenient, and soon they were up in the room he shared with his twin sister. 

Taako and Lup’s room looked like it had been designed in the 60s and hadn't been changed since. There was muted pink shag carpeting and light burnt orange painted walls. Taako’s bedspread was desaturated green and Lup’s was sky blue, giving the whole room a Scooby and Gang vibe. There were four lava lamps in the four corners of the room and Christmas lights sling up haphazardly along the ceiling and walls. Speakers were set up in a surround sound format, their wires blending in with the wires of the Christmas lights, rendering them indistinguishable. It was a pretty big room so they had space for a pillow pile that Sloane plopped on when she entered. If it weren't for the posters of modern bands and singers that Taako barely listened to, anyone would be thoroughly convinced that they'd stepped through a portal to Daphne's room. There was stuff strewn around on the floor, but it was actually a lot cleaner than it usually is. She guessed they cleaned up. 

You might be wondering how two high school pot heads got this sweet set up. The two didn't work, their parents were just hella rich and never around. But every week they got a check in their bank accounts. You would then, what a sweet life right? Sure, if you're down to raise yourself. Their aunt took care of them for a while, but eventually she left. And with no one to teach them social norms, they weren't exactly friendly or trusting, but once you gained their trust, you were in like Sloane. Normally the rich kids are really popular, but their lack of knowledge of social structure aided in the two being labeled as outcasts. But they didn't seem to mind the lack of fake friends and abundance of trouble they got into. They always looked fresh to death, and they had fun. So it's not all bad as of now.

Sloane watched as Taako kicked off his converse and stepped onto his bed. He pulled a Dolly Parton poster up and reached his hand into a hole in the wall that was roughly the size of his foot. He pulled out three bags, a small bag of joints, a bag of papers and then a large bag of weed. He turned around and jumped off the bed. “Pick your poison.” He said. 

“Joint.” She decided. “Bongs are too personal and communal.”

“Wait until you start chain smoking.” He remarked, grabbing a lighter from a bedside table and plopping down next to her on the beanbag/pillow pile. “So, tell me everything you know about Hurley. I plan to be your wingman.”

“Oh my god.”

“Oh my god.” Hurley said. She was sitting in her car, a respectable little grey vehicle. I might be.  
Hurley took a deep breath. She felt like her lungs were too small. She remembered the look behind The Raven’s eyes. Surprise, excitement, and intrigue. She could tell that she wanted to stay, talk more. And if Taako hadn't pulled her away, she might have. Hurley dropped her head against the steering wheel, jumping at the huge beep that came from her horn. She groaned. The door of the car across from her shut and she looked up to see Magnus Burnsides, football tank, sitting in his car across from her. He looked worn out. He gave her a little wave and she smiled a tired smile. Then turned the key. How was she going to explain this to Captain Bane? Her target liked her. And as she felt a pinch in her stomach, she realized she found her intriguing too.


	3. Lup the Loop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay I'm sorry I use so many songs I like music. Also, the title is a Bye Bye Birdie reference if you've ever seen it. Also sorry it's been a while!

By the time Killian and Carey were there, they'd already been smoking for a while.

“Hey, guess who's here!” Killian said.

“And guess what we found.” Carey added.

“Hard Lemonade?” Sloane guessed as she heard Carey and Killian come up the stairs.

“Nope, it looks like Taako.” Carey smiled. 

“Is it a bong that looks like me?” He chimed in. “Oh! Or a wine glass with a figurine of me as the stem?”

“No, it's,”

“Your favorite twin!”

If It were an anime, a light would have flashed and they would have seen a back lit silhouette of a girl in the doorway, but instead, the door burst open, hitting the wall stopper and swinging back slightly as Lup, Taako’s twin sister posed in the doorway. Her arms were raised and her hands were placed on either side of the doorway, legs pulled together in a vogue-ish model pose.

“6/10.” Taako rated her pose. She seemed to frown just barely.

“Hey, fu-“

“We found her walking on the side of the road.” 

Carey crawled under her arm and into the room. 

“In those heels?” Taako stood up, bringing the bong with him as his sister entered the room. Killian was behind her, a six pack of hard lemonade in each hand. Sloane reached for them like a baby reaching for a bottle. Killian chuckled as she made her way towards her.

“I'm fueling your addiction.”

“Bad day,” Sloane excused and took the bottle. She took a drag from the joint and opened her drink.

“Yeah, right.” Taako scoffed and pushed the bong into Lup's accepting hands. She took a puff. “You met your soulmate.”

“I got caught by the hall monitor.” She corrected. “I’m more interested in why Lup was walking on the side of the road.” 

“Barry Bluejeans!” She exclaimed. “I went out with Barry, and we used our fake IDs and got beer and I swindled some middle schoolers in pool and Barry got blasted and couldn't drive me home.” She said, gesturing wildly.

Taako’s face was covered in concern and despair. “Edgy.”

“Cheer up,” she smiled. “I brought you half.” She pushed five crumpled up bills in his hands.”

He sighed. “And Lup's moral identity is shattered. Taking candy money from literal two year olds.”

“It's only 5 o clock, where did you go?!” Sloane asked, still reeling from her tale.

“The seedy bowling alley where the heroin addicts go to shoot up. It's filled with dead beat adults by the time school gets out, and the people who work there get the bus to drop off their middle schoolers. I'll take you some time.” Lup was dressed to go out. 

She had on an orange skirt that matched the walls and a teal shirt that matched Taako’s pants. Her shirt was tucked into the skirt and she wore black fishnet stockings underneath it, a pair of teal velvet high heels on her feet. Her long blonde hair was up in a ponytail, a bunch of micro braids spread throughout. Her hair was slightly lighter than Taako’s, and a lot longer too. She was usually the one who helped braid Sloane’s hair because Sloane's idea of a hairstyle was a giant messy bun.

“Just tell me my heels are okay and everything is forgiven.” Taako said.

By this point, Carey and Killian had taken up a spot on Taako’s bed, which was opposite the pillow pile. Sloane offered them two joints while Lup slipped out of her shoes. She picked them up and handed them to Taako for inspection. Lup took another hit from the bong and slipped out of her fishnets. She grabbed some pale pink sweatpants from the closet and pulled them on under her skirt, then pulled the skirt off, throwing it beside her bed in a heap.  
“Where's Missy?” Lup frowned and pulled her phone from her shirt. After a minute of tapping, a 90s beat came on, and Sloane recognized Missy Elliot’s Work It. 

She groaned. 

Lup pointed at her. “Stop right there, you're disrespecting a goddess.” She did a body roll, mouthing the words and wagging her eyebrows at Sloane.

Taako smiled after searching the shoes, seemingly placated, and set them on the dresser along with other various pairs. He went back to the pillow pile, reaching for the bong from Lup who had found a seat on the floor. Carey was sitting in Killian’s lap, since she was considerably smaller. 

Carey was a petite girl who’s bite was way bigger than her bark. She had dyed her hair a bluish-green, and cut it soon after, short on the sides, long on the top. Her tan skin was a good complemented her tan skin. She loved Killian more than anyone. If you asked her, she'd tell you how Killian hung the moon in the sky. And Killian would always respond by saying that Carey hung the sun. They were always holding each other, kissing, hugging, stuff like that. Sometimes, during a particular celebration, Killian would lift her up and spin her around, usually ending it will a kiss. It was easy for Killian because she was so strong. The girl was big, really big and she was on the wrestling team. She was probably better than half the boys. She was way taller than Sloane and if Taako was wearing his tallest heels, he was almost as tall. But just barely. She was strong as a bull, but she melted when it came to Carey.  
Carey had Killian, Taako had his recent mystery man, and Sloane and Lup were the loners. Since Taako had started dating his mystery boyfriend a few months ago, they had started to joke about Sloane and Lup being exiled from the couples group. That usually resulted in Sloane and Lup reiterating a pact to date if they instated that rule. Sloane smiled to herself. She could never date Lup. The idea was laughable, she and Taako were like family. Sloane looked up to find everyone grinning at her.

“What?” She asked.

“You thinking of your new girlfriend?” Taako asked, nudging her. 

“I'm thinking about clubbing you with your own bong.” She joked, leaning her head back and taking a long drag.

“You know, she lives in this neighborhood.” 

Sloane looked back up. Good intel. “Yeah?” She tried to act like she didn't care, but she knew Lup could see through it when she raised a skeptical eyebrow. 

Carey leaned off the bed and grabbed a drink, opening it. Taako grabbed two, passing one to Lup from over Sloane, and took a drag of the bong before opening the lemonade. Sloane's head lolled onto his shoulder. She felt a slight fog in her brain, like the smog starting to fill the room. A rock beat and guitar riffs blasted from the speakers in a song that was more Sloane’s speed. A disgruntled teen said something fast and choppy in a barely intelligible voice. Sloane tapped her foot to the beat andk smoked the last bit of her joint before getting up and snuffing it on the ashtray on the end table. She set her drink down too, and went to Lup, taking her hand and pulling her up. 

“Come on, let's dance.”

Lup chuckled, spilling her drink a little on the carpet as she let herself get pulled up.  
Sloane smiled at Taako as she stood up on Lup’s bed, beckoning him to get up too, but he shook his head lazily. “No, these pillows are clouds and I love them.”

She laughed, and an hour later she was doing stuff she couldn't remember.

 

Hurley was balancing a chemical reaction when she heard it, the sound of gravel hitting the plastic siding of her house. She got up from her bed and ran a hand through her short orange fringe. On the lawn, which was dim from the receding sun, was a dark figure throwing rocks, the sound sharp and pinging as they ricocheted off the side and bounced to the ground.

“Oh, Hurley, Hurley, wherefore art thou hall monitor?  
Deny thy badge and refuse thy captain,   
For what is in a- no wait.” The figure called up.   
When she opened the window, she could see who it was, a familiar teen girl wearing sunglasses and a ball cap.

“Hey.” She called.

“What are you doing on my lawn?!” Hurley yelled down to her. She was confused and at the same time, amused. The Raven had found out where she lived and came to see her. Even though she was wavering like she was drunk.

“I'm racing tomorrow, I want you to come!” She grinned like something else, something bright, and Hurley knew she had been drinking. “I'll dedicate my win to you. Thought you might like to see it.” 

Hurley went pink in the cheeks. Dear god. “Racing is illegal.” She called.

“Then don't go.” Sloane shrugged. “But I'll miss you.” She backed up a couple steps, blew a kiss and then stumbled The few steps back into the bushes, falling and chuckling. 

Hurley stood another moment with her head sticking out of the window, then ducked back in, wearing a smile she hadn't felt in a long time.


	4. Foot To The Floor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, here we are! I hope this is a good enough chapter, I wanted to work in some of the mechanics and give Sloane and Hurley more time together, so it's a filler, but it also sets up some plot stuff for later!

The alarm clock seemed to blare endlessly, and Sloane didn't get up until she couldn't take it anymore. She rolled over and smacked the shut off button on her phone, sitting up. Sloane felt a lump under her arm and pulled back the covers to find a sleeping Lup. The blonde rubbed her eyes and slowly blinked awake.  

 

“What are you doing in my bed?” Sloane asked groggily. 

 

“Carey and Killian fell asleep in my bed and Taako kicks so I stowed away in your car.” She groaned, rolling back over.  

 

Sloane held her head. “Ibuprofen for both of us, coming right up.” She told her. The girl grabbed her phone, heading to the kitchen. She texted Taako, a quick “come pick up your sister, she wandered into my bed” before she grabbed the aspirin, two bottles of water and a cookie. She headed up the stairs to find Lup sitting up, holding her head. She dropped a pill into her open palm and gave her the bottle. Lup downed the pill and Sloane did the same. 

For now she had to get ready. Her hangover cure called for half an hour of sleep after the first pill, but that didn't mean she couldn't get ready first. She pulled on her black jeans and tight black v-neck t-shirt. "Lup, do my hair?" She asked.  

Lup grinned and pulled a brush from Sloane's bedside table. Sloane sat down on the bed and got out her phone, to possibly do damage control if she'd been drunk texting last night. She hadn't been blackout, but there was enough to give her a migraine. She also shouldn't have been driving, she realized after a moment of clarity. Sloane went back to her texts as Lup pulled her hair up. There was a video and a few texts in the group chat she was in with Carey, Killian, Taako and Lup. 

* * *

**Carey**  

   I can't believe you actually did that- 

 

**Killian**  

   I can't believe I actually got it on video. 

 

**Taako**  

   I WIN, you all owe me five dollars, which I intend to collect.  

 

**Sloane**

What did I do last night???                  

* * *

 

Sloane scrolled up found a video. She could barely make out what was happening over giggles from behind the camera and the shaking frames, but she was standing with her back to the camera on a vaguely familiar lawn, saying words she remembered saying, but not to who.  

“I'm racing tomorrow, I want you to come! I'll dedicate my win to you. Thought you might like to see it.” She had said.  

Sloane watched as she spoke more. “Then don't go.” She had

shrugged. “But I'll miss you.” She then backed up a couple steps, blew a kiss and then stumbled The few steps back into the bushes, falling and chuckling. The video stopped with Killian mid-laugh, frame showing what Sloane had been facing. A beige house, plastic siding. A girl's head sticking out of the window. 

Red headed. Blushing. And grinning like a thief. 

For a moment Sloane hoped it was because she'd stolen Hurley’s heart, but she soon realized that Hurley had stolen hers instead. 

 

Hurley found herself in a Batman tank top and board shorts, approaching a finish line. It was crudely made, a red spray painted line that she'd seen on two or three other back roads in their county. The mark of crossing a finish line. This kind of thing was high risk. Most people knew not to drive the back roads on Saturdays, and everyone knew that the race was streamed live on a private website. Only people with connections got the link. She was 30 yards away from a group of scattered teens. Someone had cut a path to the side of the road, where the it yielded to a very small plateau, before falling away to the road and a meadow. It was only about 10 feet from the finish line, and some kids were already atop it. The plateau continued into a trailer park, so there was plenty of space for a big turn out. There were already kids there, some with lawn chairs, some sitting on the grass.  

Hurley was standing away, wondering how she got here. What made her hands pick out out clothes, what carried her feet to this spot. The Raven was dedicating her race to Hurley. But she hadn't said race, exactly. She said win. The Raven was so confident in her abilities, she thought she'd win, and dedicate it to her. It had made her stomach and her heart flutter. Like a supernatural event, this vandal had flown in on a meteor, leaving trouble in her wake and Hurley behind her, watching her blow kisses and leaving the hall monitor to decide whether to catch them or not. It was one of those “heart says yes, brain says no” situations.  

So now, in front of these kids, she felt apprehensive. She wasn't sure how to approach them, not until she saw two familiar faces. Magnus Burnsides was sitting in a blanket next to a kid from her World Religions class. His name was Merle. He was a senior, but he looked older than the average senior, but somehow was much shorter. They'd worked together on a lot of partner projects. He was pretty nice and maybe down on his luck, but positive about the future. Seeing him gave her some confidence and she wandered over to their blanket. “Hey,”she said. “Can I sit with you guys?”  

Merle looked up, smiling. “Sure! Sit down.” 

She did and he looked to Magnus. “Magnus, this is-“ 

“Exhausted parking lot girl.” He said, pointing to her.  

"Exasperated parking lot guy." She shot back, smiling. 

He chuckled. "Yup, that's me." 

"My name is Hurley." She leaned forward and extended a hand. "Nice to meet your acquaintance."  

"Magnus Burnsides. Ditto." He shook her hand, and even though she already knew his name, she remained silent. It was only polite. 

"So what brings the dutiful hall monitor to the races?" Magnus asked. 

"Yeah, didn't you say you hated these things?" Merle asked. 

"Well, I-" She _did_ hate them. She didn't really care that much for sports in general, but when it came down to it, she wasn’t here for the race. "A friend invited me, and so I thought I'd check it out."  

"Hm." Merle smiled, obviously suspicious of something. "Well, you can watch it with us." He pulled a large tablet from his backpack and turned it on, the race feed already queued up. The feed was black for a moment before starting to show a road with a marked green line, and four cars. Her heart jumped in her chest when she saw the black car. It was faintly familiar for a reason she couldn't figure out.  

More people were starting to join the crowd, and she noticed the rebel crew and their flamboyant leader arriving and sitting on a blanket close to the road. Taako was wearing sunglasses and a beige tank top with the rainbow tie-dyed words "Weird Science" printed on them with high waisted black shorts and a pair of Timberland boots. His sister was wearing the same shorts with a  maroon cropped t-shirt, the words "Good Vibes" printed three times over the place where a breast pocket would be. She had on sandal-wedges and Hurley wondered how she could walk in them. Carey was wearing a blue flannel and white t-shirt with denim shorts and Vans sneakers. The flannel looked big on her and it was obvious it belonged to Killian. Killian was wearing a denim jacket over a black t-shirt and jogger pants. A curly haired boy ran behind the strutting crew. The boy had brown hair and black glasses with crisp denim blue jeans and a red shirt. 

"Lup!" He called and she turned. The boy tripped over a loose shoelace and stumbled, but Lup moved forward to catch him. 

"Barry-" she started, but he pulled himself from her arms and dusted himself off, mumbling an apology. 

"It's whatever." She said, obviously a little annoyed. 

"About yesterday, though... I came to  talk to you." He lowered his voice and Hurley couldn't hear, so she shrugged and went back to the screen, the race was about to start and a red car with graffiti across the side pulled up next to the black car. 

 The camera person zoomed in on the drivers, and Hurley could see three Hammerhead thugs in the red car. The wide road held two more cars, one with four passengers, all wearing big goggles, making them look bug-eyed. There was a cricket figurine hanging from the rear view mirror and she noticed that the car was colored a sandy beige. The next was a deep blue car with two kids wearing sunglasses and multicolored squid hats like the ones you get at amusement parks. They were joking around and poking each other. When the shot panned out, there was the Raven again. She couldn't see her eyes behind the mask, but she could tell she was tense by the way she was gripping the wheel. 

 In the background there were two voices, male and female both equally flamboyant but slightly distinguishable as two kids who were co-presidents of Board Game Club and members of the morning news team as anchors. Their names were Lydia and Edward, she remembered. The camera panned to them and they grinned. The two twins were completely identical aside from the way they parted their hair and the length. A lot of people compared them to Taako and Lup, but these two were much different. It was almost as if the two spoke with one mind. They wore identical clothes, had the same ideas about life and got along a little too well for siblings. They had lilac dyed hair and matching round sunglasses. The two wore white blouses with black high waisted shorts and crème berets. They were a strange pair for sure, but they could coerce a crowd. 

 

“Hello and welcome to the race this week! We sure do have a stellar line up!” Lydia said. 

“Yes, It seems all the best racers have turned out this week, huh?” Edward added. 

“Of course!” She grinned. “It’s high stakes, today they aren’t just racing for fun. There’s a prize on the line.” 

Hurley watched as the twins shared a mischievous look. “An arcane core.” They said in tandem. 

Hurley’s brows furrowed. An arcane core was a rare engine piece. Anyone who found one was either incredibly rich or incredibly stealthy, and both had to have the right connections. Hurley knew all this because of her dad. Not a lot of people knew it, but her dad ran a car garage. Sometimes she spent time with him there, and he told her about the problems with the cars, how to fix them, rare and cool parts for different kinds of cars. And the arcane core was a legendary part for drag racers.  

“For those of you who _aren’t_ familiar with car tech, you might want a little background on what this admittedly, magical-sounding part actually is.” Edward said. 

Lydia smiled at him. “Naturally. This is a part for the engine. We’re not quite sure how-“ 

“-But it boosts the engine efficiency so that the engine can work faster and take more fuel, which-“ 

“-In turn, makes the car go faster!”  

Edward put an arm around her, pulling them closer together to support the already established fact that they were a team. She did the same, putting an arm around him as he spoke. “And it packs an extra little punch when you need it.” 

The two played off each other like usual, and Hurley wished they’d just get on with the race already. There was more showmanship on their part before the race started and more and more people joined the crowd forming near the finish line. She took the time before the fun by wataching the people around them, mainly the rebel group. 

Carey was sitting on Killian's lap and they were talking about something with Lup, when Taako took a break himself to look around at who'd turned out. When he noticed Magnus, he smiled. “Hey wolverine, nice sideburns.” 

Magnus chuckled. “Thanks, Taako, how’s your imaginary boyfriend?” 

“My perfectly _real_ boyfriend is hot and strong and sexy, and I would absolutely _relish_ getting the two of you in bed with me.” He winked.  

Apparently the two were friends. Good friends, Hurley assumed for her own investigative purposes.

“Yeah, I’m sure Julia would be fine with that.” Magnus scoffed, but still smiled. The two engaged in casual banter for a while, playing off the other's remarks. Hurley watched them for a little while, but soon grew bored.

 

With each moment she didn’t see The Raven, she grew more anxious that someone would recognize her and realize she’s the hall monitor, here for the school vandal. At least she hoped that’s what the bubbling in her stomach was.

When the countdown to the beginning started, she held her breath until the gun shot. The cars sped off and she exhaled with the smoke coming from the tailpipes. She felt like her heart got faster every time their rpm climbed. Hurley felt amazed, watching them, minute by minute. One car turned around another one, one pulled ahead of another. The squids were quick to establish their place in third, just trying not to lose as The Raven and The Hammerheads quickly sped out of their sights They weaved in and out of each other, like artists making a tapestry of dust and smoke. She was so entranced and enraptured, she almost didn’t hear Lydia’s warning. 

“Those of you camped out by the finish line might want to look left to see who’s going to win, first hand!”  

Hurley looked up, and in the distance, saw The Raven and The Hammerheads neck and neck, just like they were on the screen. She held her breath again, crossing her fingers. _Come on, Raven._  

 

Sloane grinned, yelling her head off as she tore down the road. Her hangover cure was golden.  

One ibuprofen, a 30-minute nap, two more ibuprofens, and bang, you’re fine. 

Sloane giggled and whooped with reckless abandon. She felt as free as a bird- no pun intended as she sailed toward the finish line, the Hammerheads on her side. _This_ was what she craved about racing, the adrenaline pumping in her blood, the high of endorphins in her brain, the G-Force, the weightlessness of going 120 mph, and the danger. It was completely exhilarating. She glanced at The Hammerheads, flashing them a haughty grin and pushing her foot to the floor. She surged ahead and laughed loudly as she heard them cursing in her dust. She crossed the finish line, slowed, and turned off the back road to a dirt path towards the trailer park. She parked a little way away from the crowd and the others soon joined her. The teens were all standing and cheering. All eyes were on her as she looked out at them. They all cheered and whooped for her as she scanned the crowd. Her eyes met Hurley’s.  

There she was. Grinning again, eyes alive with spark and vigor and Sloane just couldn’t help herself. She opened the sun roof and crouched on the armrest, jumping and shooting herself through the roof. She landed on the top of it and raised her arm, pointing at Hurley. "I'm dedicating this one to Hurley!" A murmur went through the crowd, but they didn't stop clapping and cheering.

She grinned, walking down the hood, and jumping off. “Told you so.”  

Hurley blushed, chucking. “Yeah I guess you did.”  

The bearded man next to her smiled up at her. “Your ‘friend’ was The Raven?” He asked and the crowd suddenly surged, Taako and Lup heading the charge. They threw their arms around her in a hug, Killian was right behind her and she tossed Sloane up, putting her on her shoulders. Everything became a blur of cheers and excitement; she almost didn’t notice The Hammerheads glowering.  

 

Eventually the crowd died down and left, leaving Sloane, The Hammerheads, Hurley and her friends, and Lup, still talking to Barry. Sloane’s hood was popped and Hurley was looking through the engine. Sloane was surprised at how much she knew, she was even pointing out things that she’d never thought of.  

“You know, if you connected the-“ 

“Hey, Raven!” Hurley was cut off by the angered voice of Maarvey, the Hammerhead Gang leader.  

Sloane sighed, turning around to meet him. He was already so close, the nose of her mask almost touched his real nose.  

“Can I help you?” She asked. 

“Yes, I'd like my prize, since you obviously don't know how to play by the rules.”  

Sloane glanced briefly to the passenger seat where her briefcase with the arcane core was nestled and laughed. “I'm pretty sure it's mine, I didn't cheat.” 

“You used a nitro boost at the last minute, that's cheating.” Heb argued. 

“I don't use, nitro, you uninformed miscreant. I pulled ahead at the last minute, that's called winning.” She said. “But you wouldn't know anything about that, would you?” The girl taunted. 

Maarvey growled and drew back his fist, throwing it forward. Magnus stepped forward to push him away, but Sloane grabbed his fist in her hand. "You shouldn't fight me…” she twisted his arm down to the side. “...when i'm trying to impress someone!” Sloane pushed him, knocking him off balance and sending him tumbling to the ground. “Get out of here, Maarvey, before I dent your face in.” She threatened. She watched him get up, grimace and saunter away. 

“How did you do that?” Hurley asked, slightly amazed. “He's huge and you're…” she gestured to The Raven’s lean frame. 

“Angles and force.” Sloane shrugged. “It's all math. And you get a little muscle lugging parts around and vaulting over school fences.” She joked. Sloane looked over the engine again, tucking some hair behind her ear.  

Behind her mask, her eyes trailed over to Hurley, khaki board shorts and all, and she smiled. Hurley looked like the most adorable butch she’d ever seen. If Sloane had to limit herself to a type it would be that, it would be Hurley. 

_Sloane, what's your sexuality?_ They’d ask. 

_Hurley._ She'd say. _Hurley is my sex_ _uality, have you seen her in a_ _Batman tank top? You'd be gay for her too._  

Sloane noticed a bolt coming loose and reached forward to touch it. Her hand brushed against something else and she saw Hurley’s hand had reached out as well. Sloane smiled, blushing behind a mask of feathers and silk and retracted her hand. The girl turned, leaning back against the car and watching Hurley examine the bolt. 

“Wrench?” She asked.  

“Yeah.” Sloane made her way to the trunk of the car and popped it, pulling her red tool box out. She made her way back to the hood and put it on the ground, opening up and rifling through it until she found a wrench, handing it up to Hurley. 

“Thanks.” She said.  

“Oh no, they got out the tools, I gotta go or I won't get home until dinner.” She heard Lup sigh, and her shoes crunch on the gravel on her way to them. 

“Okay, grease monkeys, let's get this show on the road.” She said as Hurley handed Sloane the wrench back.  

Sloane chuckled as she packed her stuff back up. By the time she found her way back to the hood, Lup was in the passenger seat. 

“So I guess you do roll with Lup and Taako and their friends?” She asked. 

“Yup, Killian, Carey… Sloane. The-the whole gang!” She said awkwardly. It was weird saying her own name.

“When the race ended, you still didn't take your mask off, and you didn't tell me your name. Who…” Hurley knitted her eyebrows and squinted like she was trying to see through the mask. “Who are you?” 

“No one of immediate consequence.” She said backing up. Sloane opened the drivers side door, grinning. “Besides. If I tell you, where’s the mystery?” She slid into the car and started it, backing out, leaving Hurley in a cloud of dust.  

“I'll figure you out someday. Just you wait.” She grinned.


	5. Girl Crazy

Hurley stared at her phone, becoming increasingly engrossed is what she was reading. She jotted down some notes on a yellow lined pad of paper, something about the amount a first place prize in a Grand Turismo would be. Hurley had been researching since she'd gotten home on Saturday, trying to find as much information as she could about drag racing. She figured the more she understood, the more she could profile about the Raven and match her up with students at the school. Her choices on the track would reflect her personality in school, no matter how much she tried to hide. She'd find out the different qualities of racers and the motives they had to have to even want to race. She figured they'd shine through in some of the students. From there, she could narrow it down. Black hair, tan skin, lithe frame, nimble fingers, infectious grin, gorgeous laugh, a sense of adventure that couldn't be matched.

  
Hurley shook herself, realizing she was becoming less and less objective about the handsome renegade. Getting close wasn't even a thought anymore. It was a reality. Whether she liked it or not, she had a crush on The Raven. And there was nothing that would shake that fact.

  
“Hurley?” The teacher tapped his foot impatiently and she sheepishly looked up from her phone and her daydreams.

  
“Yes?”

  
“Please pay attention. You'll be working with Sloane for the project, I suggest you   
get started.” He told her before turning back to the whiteboard.

Hurley looked around and saw the rest of the class paired off, pulling out graph paper and calculators. She noticed one girl as the back of class with black hair drawn up in a bun and caramel skin, smirking at her.

  
She looked vaguely familiar. Sloane.   
But she looked nothing like her picture. Not mousy, not weak and weasely. She looked… strong, somewhat confident. Completely different from her school picture last year. Hurley had to wonder… what happened?

  
“Are you gonna come here or am I going to have to use The Force?” Sloane joked from across the desks and Hurley, Rose, slightly speechless. She chuckled a little and knitted her brows. Hurley realized her heart was pounding and she almost groaned. What was she, girl crazy?

 

Sloane watched as Hurley made her way to her desk, bringing her math binder. She tried desperately not to grin. If anything, that would give away her identity. She wished she’d tried to conceal, something, anything a little more. Hurley sat in the desk in front of her and turned around.

  
“Okay, honestly, I wasn't paying attention.” She said. Sloane noticed that she seemed nervous, almost a little embarrassed. “What are we doing?” She asked.

  
“Well, aren't you lucky.” Sloane smiled softly, not a grin. “I happen to listen really well. We’re making picture graphs. Essentially we use a bunch of different lines to make a picture on a graph. Like a dog or a bird or Mount Rushmore.” She shrugged.

  
Hurley winced. “Great. I’m good at the graph part, but creativity on my part is limited.”

  
“Don't worry.” Sloane chuckled. “I'll worry about the design, you just tell me how to make it, and we’ll plug the equations into an online generator.” She shrugged.

  
She saw Hurley’s face break into a lopsided smile, and she fought the urge to smile herself. She reached into her back pack and pulled out a graph paper notebook to start sketching a design.

  
“Hey, can I ask you something?”

  
Sloane didn't look up from her sketchbook, locked in on the design. “Shoot.”

  
“Do you know The Raven?”   
Sloane’s pencil stopped and she looked up at Hurley. The ginger looked so sure of herself. “What do you-“

  
“I know you hang out with Taako and Carey and their friends, so you must know The Raven, right?” She said.  
“Um, well…”

 

Hurley knew asking outright might give her a bunch of lies, but Sloane looked like she wasn't capable of making up excuses or pulling wool over someone’s eyes like her consorts.

  
“Um, well…” She stumbled over her words, and Hurley could see her eyes dart back to her notebook, gears turning in her head. “I'm usually not around when she is. She's usually there right after school or on the weekends, and I just don't have time usually… at that time." It was flimsy, but also tame enough to believe, so she left it.

  
“Really? Well, if you ever do see her, tell me what it's like.” Hurley wasn't sure if she was asking for the mission or herself, but she understood she probably won't get any more out of this wall flower. “Any idea what we’ll do?”

  
“That's for me to create and you to plug in and find out.” She said, her tone lighter as she scribbled furiously. “I think you'll like it.”

  
“I hope I will.” Hurley bit her lip.

 

She sighed as she took a seat at the round table in the Student Council club room.

  
Benji played with a paper clip next to her, bending and shaping it like MacGyver. Clarisse picked at her chipping nail polish as they waited for Captain Bane to arrive.

  
“Hurley, he's not gonna be happy you didn't find anything.” Clarisse told her.  
“I found something,” she said. “It's just not panning out a lot.”

  
She didn't tell them about how she'd brushed hands with her. She didn't tell them her stomach fluttered every time she saw the black feathered mask. She didn't tell them how she’d hung out a window talking to her as she yelled tipsy, incorrect Shakespeare lines on her yard.  
She told them The Raven raced. And she won.

  
“The clues are vague at best, Hurley, do you really think we’re gonna find her, she's pretty elusive.” Benji reasoned, not looking up.

  
“We’re gonna catch her. Have I ever lost a case before?” She asked.

  
“No.” The two said in unison.

  
“But we’ve never had a delinquent the caliber of The Raven.” Clarisse pointed out.

  
Captain Bane entered and sat down across the table from them. “Sorry, I had a situation with the lacrosse team. What's the status of the Raven issue.”

  
“She's still… masked. We know she's a racer.” Hurley offered and watched as his expression fell.

  
“That's all you know? Usually by now, you have a list of students.” He said.

  
“She's unique, she may not even go to school here, but regardless I can't pin her to anyone here. Black long hair and tan skin aren't unusual characteristics for our area.” She said helplessly.

  
“Well we have to find something out.” Captain Bane ran a hand though his hair.

  
“What about undercover work.” Clarisse blurted out. All eyes turned to her. “What if one of us went undercover at a race, pretended to be a fan, trailed her, maybe even talked to her?” She said.

  
“That's… not a bad idea.” Captain Bane said. “Nice work Clarisse, who wants to go undercover?”

  
Everyone’s eyes shifted to Hurley. She tried to hide her excitement.

  
“I guess I'll do it.” She said.

  
“There, all settled.” Captain Bane stood and left.

  
The three stood up from their chairs and Benji slipped his finished paperclip project onto the table. A raven’s head, shaped much like the insignia The Raven signed her works with.

  
“Let's go get her.” He said.

 

Sloane ran a hand through her hair, smiling at the orange ceiling above her, reaching up a lazy hand before letting drop to her side. For once in her life she wasn't stoned in Taako’s room. She breathed in the second hand smoke from his joint and let her mind wander.

  
“Do you think she’s into girls?” She asked the air.

  
From the bean bag pile, she could hear Taako. “If she wasn't before, she is now. Your mutual crush on each other is both adorable and embarrassing at the same time.” He snorted.

  
“You think she really has a crush on me?” She questioned.

  
“Are you _fucking blind_?” He sat up and she did too. “She's so into you, if I wanted to get her out I'd have to get a shovel and dig her out."

  
“But I feel like it's too early to ask her out.” Sloane said.

  
“Oh definitely, but don't let that stop you.” He sunk back into his spot and she flipped back on the bed.

  
“I have to.” She groaned. “What am I even thinking, she can't date The Raven. I can't take my mask off around her or she'd know. She's trying to put me in detention for Christ’s sake!”

  
“Love is a great struggle.” Taako said.

  
The door flew open, denting the wall. Lup walked in, apparently having kicked the door open. “Hey I'm here.”  
“Thanks for the announcement.”

Taako said. “Take Sloane home.”

  
“You didn't drive?” Lup asked as she put her stuff on the bed.

  
“Nope,” she got up from the bed and went to the door, pulling her shoes on. “I have a policy against driving 24 hours after installing a new part.”

  
“You got the arcane core hooked up, then?” She asked, pricking up the keys from the dish near their bedroom door.

  
“Yup, last night.” Sloane stood up, crossing to the door. “Bye, Taako.”

  
“It's been lovely, Sloane.” He said.

  
She smiled and the two girls passed through the doorway.

  
When they got to the car and Lup slipped in, she hesitated putting her seatbelt on. Sloane put her seatbelt on and looked over at her. “You okay?”

  
She looked up and over at her. “Do you ever realize that… you're here more than anyone else?”

  
“What?” Sloane asked, her face wrinkling.

  
“Today is our mom’s birthday- I've come to call her Lana. Because it's a name I like, I can't remember her real name, never bothered to look.” She sat back in the driver's seat. “It's her birthday and I have no idea where she is. But I just got $500 wired to my account.” She laughed. “$500 dollars is her version of an apology, but you know what you got us for our birthday last year?”

  
“A purple and green lava lamp.”

  
“A purple and green lava lamp.” Lup repeated, smiling at her. “And even though we have five others, we didn't have a green and purple one.”

  
“I thought you might like it.” Sloane smiled at her.

  
“We love it. I guess, what I mean is- thanks.” She said. “Thanks for everything. You've been a really good friend. I know I do t usually say stuff like this mushy shit, but… I thought you should know.”

  
Sloane smiled. “Trust me. I do.”

 

Lup pulled up to her drive way and Sloane smiled. The car was blasting and the mood was light again, and as Sloane got out Lup yelled a goodbye before speeding away. She chuckled and sighed.  
All Sloane wanted to do was take a nap in her car. It sounds weird, but the seats were really comfortable, and if her parents were home, it was the only quiet place in the house.

  
Sloane punched in the garage door code and waited as the door went up. When it opened her eyes widened and she felt the life leave her body.

  
“Oh shit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aha! The long awaited cliffhanger I wanted to include! You'll just have to wait until next week to see what the thingy is!


	6. Something "Borrowed"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, sorry this is so short, but I'm starting to get into the main conflict of the piece and i want to have a purpose for every chapter. This chapter just seemed to get to its purpose faster than a longer one! Also I procrastinated really hard on writing this, so I'll try to make the next one longer (aka, establish more plot points, characterization and a little bit more of flirting between Sloane and Hurley).

Sloane let out a string of curses as she barreled through the garage and into the house. She fled to her room, looking around for a phone. She wasn't sure what to do. It was gone. It was gone! She found her cell after digging around in her bag, calling the first number she could find. 

“Pick up, pick up.” She mumbled, tapping her foot. 

“Hello?”  

“It's gone.” 

“Sloane?” 

“Someone took it!” 

“Carey, who is it?” She heard in the background.  

“Is it Sloane? I just saw her ten minutes ago, say hi for me.” She heard Taako’s distinctive voice, but she couldn't focus on it. 

“Sloane, what did they take?” 

Sloane took a deep breath, holding back tears. 

“My car, Carey. They took my car.” 

 

Hurley stepped into the reception area through the glass door at the front entrance. It was a small space, enough for a coffee machine, a small tire display, waiting area chairs, a receptionist desk and a few potted plants. Through the large glass windows on the wall to her left, she could see and hear the sights and sounds of a busy garage. Power tools being used, car lifts pulling vehicles up above mechanics’ heads, and occasional yell and the sound of metal hitting metal.  

The college intern receptionist didn't look up from her desk when Hurley entered. She pushed towards the back, opening the door to her dad’s office, which was unsurprisingly empty. She put her backpack down on an office chair before slipping out an adjoining door to the wall and into the garage. She sighed and made her way into a section that was at the back of the garage, through a big doorway to a room where parts were stored. Hurley had a work desk back here, an antique wooden thing, where she'd draw up designs, tinker, do homework and pour over notes for Captain Bane. This time, though, she found a wrench from her father's tool bag and turned to look at the parts. She found a box, shoved behind a few tires, labeled “Hurley’s Parts”.  

Hurley smiled and climbed behind them, pulling out the box and setting it on the floor. She looked at the open box, filled with slightly dusty, slightly grimy parts. Hurley started pulling out a few pieces and examining then, a plan formulating in her mind. Going undercover would have to mean a lot more than being a fan. It would mean _really_ knowing her stuff. And boy did she plan to learn. 

 

By the time Carey had pulled into the driveway, Sloane’s eyes were brimming with tears. She was standing in the empty garage, tools hung up, parts in order and oil stains mostly scrubbed out. It was impeccable, but it was empty. Killian, Taako and Carey all got out, looking it over.  

“Where's…” Taako trailed off, but seemingly sobered up a little.  

Sloane just shook her head. “I don't know but I have a hell of a guess.”  

“You don't really think that.” Killian said, moving closer as Sloane’s eyes threatened to spill over. 

“I do. The Hammerheads took my car, my baby with the arcane core in the engine and my tools in the back and-“ the tears started to spill and she crossed her arms, shaking her head and stamping her foot. “Those bastards!”  

"Sloane, it's gonna be okay." Carey said. "We'll get it back, we just have to sneak into their hideout and get it." 

"Wait, isn't that illegal?" Killian asked. 

"So is stealing a car-" Taako reasoned. 

"Then why don't we call the police?" Killian frowned. 

"Because drag racing is illegal." Sloane said, angrily wiping tears away. "They see my car, and find it in the Hammerhead's garage, the whole operation is going down and I'll be known as the girl who brought down drag racing in Goldcliff, and head's up, that's not my plan." She sighed, angrily wiping tears away. "I think Killian is right, we need to go take it back." 

"I'll call Lup, she's probably talking to Barry about something." Taako mumbled, pulling out his phone.  

"Now we just need to figure out where the Hammerheads keep their cars and how to get in." Carey said. She looked up at her girlfriend. "Killian, you don't have to if you don't want to." 

Killian sighed, looking to Sloane. The black haired girl looked shattered. She seemed lost and distant, like she wasn't sure what to do without her car.  

"I'm in. For Sloane." She smiled softly and Sloane looked up at her thankfully. 

"Lup is on her way." Taako said. "But really, nothing is going to get done if we don't figure out where the base is. That's step numero uno, and we've already failed." 

Carey thought for a moment before her face lit up. "Not necessarily..." 

Taako noticed her smile and read her mind, looking up at Sloane and smiling. 

Killian caught on and broke into a grin as well.  

Sloane stared back at them. "What?" 

 

 

Hurley tucked a pencil behind her ear. She stared at her blueprints, deep in thought. She almost didn't notice that the din of the garage had quieted down. When she finally looked up, she realized it was about closing time and she probably needed to get home. Hurley went back through her dad's office and grabbed her backpack before heading out, the last remaining mechanics, locking everything up.  

Her house wasn't too far away, meaning she could usually walk there from the auto repair shop. The sunset was turning the sky orangey-pink while she made her way along the sidewalk, planning to figure out the equations for the lines Sloane had given her so far, but when she reached her house, she saw a dark figure sitting on her porch. A girl with dark jeans and a battered leather jacket sat on the porch swing, her combat boots moving slightly so she could swing back and forth gently. She had her hair pulled up in a high braided ponytail and a black feathered mask with a beak. 

"Raven..." Hurley breathed, walking up the steps to the porch. 

She was staring past the houses across the street at the sunset, seemingly pensive. "I need a favor." She said bluntly. 

"I'm not supposed to be doing you favors, I'm supposed to be catching you for vandalism." The ginger replied, equally as blunt. 

The Raven looked over at her then. "Yet, I still don't have detention." 

Hurley faltered. She was right.  

"You know the Hammerheads?" Sloane said, standing. 

"Well, duh." She said. "They're top of my list. But I can't peg them because they're on the football team. The coach protects them like they're kids of his or something." Hurley sighed. 

The Raven moved around her, and she knew the she'd come with a purpose.  "I need to know where their hideout is." 

Hurley scoffed. "Sure, because I just know off the top of my head. Their file is locked in the Student Council file room right about now." 

"Can you get it for me?" She asked. 

Hurley paused a moment. "Sure, but only if you tell me why you need it. What are you planning?" 

The Raven stopped. "I... can't." 

Hurley raised an eyebrow. 

"It's not exactly legal... I don't want to get you in trouble." She said almost sheepishly. 

"Every time I talk to you, I'm in trouble." She put a hand on her arm, looking up at her.  "I want to help." 

The Raven didn't meet her eyes. There was a moment of silence between then until suddenly, The Raven looked at her. 

"They stole something of mine. I need it back." She said, eyes soft and pleading. "Please, I need that file, Hurley." 

Hurley felt like she was melting on the spot. "Meet me in the library after school tomorrow. We're going to break into the Student Council files." 

She saw a grin form on Sloane's face. "Thank you." And their contact broke, Sloane stepped off the porch. "I appreciate it."  

She disappeared around the side of the house and Hurley stared at the place where she'd stood.  

"No problem."


	7. Mission Possible

Sloane found herself walking to the library with a feeling of elation. She adjusted her sunglasses. She wasn't sure if her “everyday” disguise would cover her, but hey, Clark Kent got by with just glasses and a button up, she could get by with sunglasses and a ballcap. Her hair was down in a low pony tail, opposed to the high bun she wore earlier. She'd changed into a black long sleeve v-neck shirt and a pair of acid wash grey jeans, her signature combat boots and beat up leather jacket.   
She paused, just outside the glass library doors, staring at her reflection, gripping her navy baseball cap. She realized that everything, in this moment, would change. She wasn't just running around painting on buildings. She was committing theft, and making Hurley an accomplice. Hurley… she wasn't even sure where to start with that. How could she have a secret relationship as The Raven. It would be too complicated. They wouldn't even be able to go on dates.  
Sloane pulled her gaze down to the hat. Her thoughts were debris swirling around in a tornado in her mind. But one thing she knew for sure: she needed her car back. Nothing mattered if she didn't get it back. Sloane put her hat on backwards, it hoping she stayed secretive, at least for now.

  
She looked back up at herself, taking a deep breath and pushing through the door.

 

Hurley leaned on one of the shelves, biting the inside of her cheek and realizing how warped this whole idea was. She was the hall monitor, her job was to stop crime, not get involved in it! Yet here she was, about to change her entire moral alignment for a girl. A cute girl who dressed in tight clothes and had a vigilante vibe. Oh my god. Hurley stuck her hands in her hoodie pocket and pushed off from her leaning position. She was like Batman… kinda? Could Hurley even have a crush on kind-of-Batman? Or was that weird?

  
She heard footsteps and turned her head to see The Raven walking towards her. The moment slowed into slow motion as she watched her approach. She seemed like a light shining on a dark page, some kind of lake in a desert. And boy, was Hurley thirsty.

  
But thirsty in a way that a traveler would be for a reprieve from the heat! Not thirsty as in, she wanted to make out with The Raven. Now that would just be silly. Silly…

  
As the black haired girl walked towards her, akin to an action movie star walking away from an explosion, Hurley realized why she seemed to out of place. She'd never seen The Raven in the school, and she didn't look like any of the students she might have profiled. She walked confidently, like she owned the room, like she owned everyone in it too.

  
Hurley snapped from her staring as The Raven herself stopped in front of her.   
“So, the files?” She said, seemingly more blunt and detached than the previous night, but all the same eager to get what she needed.

  
“Yeah, we just have to…” Hurley trailed off as she moved to a door in the library, one that led to another classroom, the one where the meetings were usually held.

  
She looked around the darkened room quickly before flicking the light on. She moved to step forward, but Sloane put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. When Hurley looked up at her, confused, The Raven pointed to a security camera on the ceiling. It was a standard school model, mostly unused, but still accessible. The Raven pillow the hood of her hoodie over head and smiled.  
“Keep your head down and we’ll be fine, half-pint.” She said.

  
“Don't call me half-pint and I'll make sure you get that file, bird-brain.” Hurley retorted. She heard the black-haired girl chuckle next to her and suppressed a blush as she started inside.

  
The Raven walked in behind her and Hurley found the A-H section of the filing cabinets.

  
“This seems too easy.” She said.

  
“Easy is good, we don't want too much trouble.” Hurley told her as she tried the handle of the drawer. To her dismay, it didn't budge.

  
“Easy is boring,” She reached forward and tapped a key hole. The action brought them closer, and The Raven smiled down at her. Hurley felt her heart flutter slightly. “We need a key.” She whispered, an air of amusement in her voice.

  
“Then we should go get it.” Hurley whispered back.

  
They stood like that for a moment, Hurley trying to find her eyes behind the sunglasses and The Raven just smiling down at her before Hurley realized that she was waiting for a direction. She raised her eyebrows, grin widening.  
“Oh, well, Lucretia might have it!” Hurley said, vaguely recalling watching Lucretia open the cabinets when they needed to get a file out.

  
The Raven straightened up. “The Director.” She sighed. “She's probably already out of the school.”

  
“No, she has art club!” She said quickly. Hurley grinned, happy to be a fount of information for her. “She’ll be there. In the art room, we can sneak in and grab the key, then be back here in 15 minutes tops.”

  
She looked at the cabinet, presumably thinking. “Hurley, that's just crazy enough to work.” She said. “We don't have the means for a distraction big enough to disrupt art club, so whoever does it has to be incredibly stealthy.”

 

Sloane watched Hurley take a deep breath and understood what she was thinking. “You're not doing it.” She said, starting towards a door that led to the hallway.

  
“Wait, like hell I’m not!” She said, ducking away from the camera and following her through the door way.

  
Sloane looked around the hall cautiously before silently walking out into it, Hurley in tow. “You're in enough trouble for just helping me get to the file, Hall Monitor.” She whispered. “I'm not putting you in direct danger.”

  
Sloane moved down the hallway slowly, eyes darting everywhere. She didn't like this. They were too exposed out here.

  
“You're not going to be able to stealth your way into there, you're too tall. I'm smaller, I can get in and get out without even being detected.” Hurley said.   
Sloane peeked around a hallway corner and looked around for anyone who might be a person of authority. She rounded the corner and shook her head. “Not happening.”

  
She felt a hand slip into hers and she stopped. “Please?”

  
Sloane looked back at her, surprised. “Why do you wanna do this so bad?”

  
Hurley smiled up at her. “To prove I can. I can do this, I can help you.”

  
Sloane frowned. “I never doubted you could. I just don't want you taking the fall for something I dragged you into.”

  
“You didn't drag me in.” Hurley grinned, letting go of her hand and heading to the open art room door. “I came of my own free will.”

  
Sloane couldn't help but smile. Hurley pressed against the wall and Sloane looked around for a hiding spot. She saw a pair of bathrooms a little down the hallway from the art room and pointed at them so Hurley would know where she was going. When Hurley nodded, she quickly made her way past the door and down the hall to the girl’s bathroom, silently praying Hurley pulled it off.

 

Hurley watched The Raven slip into the restroom and took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. She peeked into the room, taking a quick glance and then taking stock once she was in cover again. They were huddled in groups around four tables, and the teacher was reading an art magazine. They all looked busy. Hurley crouched and poked her head around again, she looked for Lucretia’s backpack, and the keychain she kept on it. She spotted it, at a table just left of the door, tucked underneath it. Hurley looked up to the table where Lucretia was busily planning a project with her group. She could hear her distinctly.

  
When Lucretia turned her back on the doorway completely, she slipped in and crouched behind the nearest table, hoping to remain conspicuous. She looked to the next table over, seeing the backpack and taking a deep breath. “Marcie, this section would be really good to showcase your talent for oil pastels.” She said, and Hurley took the opportunity to move to the next table, still crouching. She smiled, relieved when she moved under the table with Lucretia’s backpack, until she heard her speak. “Here, I'll get a pencil to start the sketch.” She heard footsteps on the tile, coming towards the table and Hurley pressed further back. She saw a dark-skinned hand right in front of her and moving around it reached for her knee and Hurley quickly pulled the backpack in front of her. Lucretia pulled it out from under the table and Hurley heard the sound of zippers and rustling. After a moment, the sounds stopped and the bag was thrown back under the table- right into Hurley’s shins.

  
She thanked whatever god was looking out for her and found the keychain. Hurley examined them and found one labeled (thankfully all of them were labeled) “files”. Hurley quickly worked it off the ring, smiling at her triumph so far.

 

With every passing moment, Sloane felt her heart twist more and more. She fiddled with the zippers on her jacket, playing with the idea that Hurley would get out alive. She heard steps coming into the bathroom and ducked into a stall. The footsteps slowed as they entered.

  
“Raven?” She heard Hurley and sighed, relieved, stepping out from the stall.

  
“Hey, glad you made it.” She grinned down at her. “Did you get the key?”

  
Hurley grinned up at her, her expression cocky. She extended her arm and opened her hand, and laying flat in the center was a shiny golden key.

  
Sloane grinned. “Thank the gods.” She picked it up, looking it over. “You really are good, huh?”

 

“Cmon, let's go get that file.” Hurley said, and she she watched The Raven tuck a stray hair behind her ear.

  
Making it back to the Student Council Room was easy.

  
Putting the key in the lock was easy.

  
Opening the drawer and pulling out the Hammerhead's file was easy.

  
But when she looked at The Raven, flipping through the file intently, a hard lump formed around the words working their way out of her throat. “Raven.”

  
The black-haired girl looked up from the file. “What is it?”

  
“You said the Hammerheads stole something…” Hurley’s brows knitted together. “What was it? What did they steal?”

  
The Raven shut the file, cautiously looking her over. “Why do you want to know?”

  
“Because if it’s important, I want to help get it back.”

  
“Hurley.” The Raven sighed. “I'm not-"

  
“Yeah, I know.” She interrupted. “You're not gonna put me in danger, but I'd be there of my own free will, just let me-"

  
“No, no, that's the end of the story, I can’t worry about a civilian-"

  
“I'm not a civilian! I'm just as qualified as you, I got the keys!” She said and The Raven stopped.

  
She saw her put a hand on her forehead. “Why do you want to help anyway?”

  
Hurley’s mouth hardened into a tight, determined line. “I'm tired of playing cop.”

  
The Raven removed her hand, looking down at her, seemingly surprised.

  
“Nothing I do makes any difference. What you're doing right now, though, it seems important. You wouldn't take such big lengths for an impish prank. You actually try to fix the problems. That spray paint on the Hammerheads car at the race was you, I know it, I caught you in the act. Now they've done something bad- they've stolen something, and you're gonna return it to its rightful owner. I can't do anything about it in my normal parameters when I'm working under Bane. I want to do something, I'm tired of standing still and doing nothing. Let me help you. Let me feel like I'm making a difference.” She finished, looking up at her with pleading eyes.

 

Sloane stared back down at her. The way she spoke, her eyes, all filled with longing, pleading, wishing to just help, Sloane blinked, she couldn't tear her eyes away. Hurley’s gaze bored into her very core, a part of her she kept hidden away, a part that wanted her to help, so much so that she couldn't stop herself from saying-

  
“My car.”

  
Hurley’s face grew surprised. “They- your…”

  
“They stole my car.” Sloane sighed. “And if you want to help…” she smiled softly. “I could use your skills.”

  
Hurley grinned. “Thanks.”

  
Sloane set the file key on top of the cabinet and walked towards the door, slipping the file into a slit she’d put into her jacket for various papers that needed to be hidden. “You know, you're really stubborn.” She said as Hurley caught up to her.

  
Hurley closed the door behind her, smiling up at her. “Yeah?”

  
“Yeah.” She crossed the library, Hurley in tow. “Like a ram.”

  
“Rams aren't stubborn, it's a mule.” She corrected.

  
Sloane scoffed. “Obviously you don't watch Discovery Channel.”

 

“And then she gave this big compelling speech about how she's tired about sitting by while shitty stuff happens, so now she's gonna help us.” Sloane told the group gathered around the kitchen island.

  
The five friends were at Taako’s house, having Chinese takeout as Sloane told them about how the Hurley project went. 

“Wait, what?” Lup said. “You're actually letting her help us?”

  
“Yeah, she can do it, she stole the key.” Sloane reasoned. She wasn't about to let on that she was worried about Hurley getting them caught as well. Had the girl ever been involved in petty crime?

  
“Stealing keys and stealing back a car are two very different things.” Carey pointed her chopsticks at her.

  
“If you're so worried, you could teach her how to sneak.” Sloane said, reaching for an egg roll.

  
“I'm just worried about Sloane getting lost in her eyes in the middle of the whole thing.” Taako snickered. “We’ll turn our back on them for two seconds and it's like ‘oh shit, they're gone’.” He teased her and she flicked him.

  
“Shut up! You should be worried about Killian and Carey.” She smirked.

  
Carey smiled. “I’ve learned to accept my distractions as strengths.” She said, making Killian chuckle and kiss her cheek.

  
“Yeah, maybe we could teach you to stare at her less obviously.” Killian joked.

  
“I don't know about you four, but I think it's time to address the elephant in the room.” Lup said. She looked at Sloane. “If she works with us, you're going to have to tell her who you are.”

  
The table went quiet.

  
Realization came over Sloane’s face. They'd be going back to her house to drop the car off. They were planning in the garage, and it had to happen sooner or later.

  
“Sloane.” Lup looked at her and smiled. “If she's really as excited as you say she is, I don't think there's going to be a problem. In fact, she may even like you more.”

  
Sloane nodded. Still, the decision weighed on her. There was an aspect about it that made her feel like it maybe wasn't necessary. Maybe she could get by without saying anything. But deep down in the pit of her stomach, where morality ruled, she knew.

She just had to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How do you end a chapter? I don't know, apparently!   
> Well, here it is, longer and (I guess) better than ever!   
> I've decided that Sunday will be my official update day, some time after 10am EST, so you have a date to look forward to! If it's a day late or so, I will probably put out an update somewhere??  
> Until next week!


	8. Fight For Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Sorry about the shortness of this chapter, but I have been super duper busy this week! I was gonna add on a part where they actually meet at her house, but that will just have to wait until next week. Speaking of next week, I'm going to camp, which means no cell phones/laptops and so my usual update will be much (oh my god I mean tiny) shorter than usual. Also, this chapter had a fun inspiration! A video I found on Tumblr of Fight For Me from the Heathers, but with JD as a girl. It inspired the fight (and Hurley's reaction) and I highly recommend you watch it:   
> http://heylookitscourt.tumblr.com/post/159962216037/80-lines-of-virgil-gushergurl-heathers-the
> 
> That's it for this time! See you next week.

Sloane passed Hurley another piece of paper. “Here you go.”

Hurley just chuckled. “You know, I don't think we’re gonna finish this by Friday.”

Sloane frowned. She was right. It was already Wednesday and she was only halfway done with the revision of the original sketch, as well as drawing out the lines for Hurley.

Sloane, why don't you just show her the whole picture.

Because then she would probe further into things she didn't need to. And Sloane already had the weight of telling her on her head.

“You're right. What should we do?” Sloane asked.

“Well, you could give me your number and we could meet up after school. How's your place?” Hurley asked.

“Uh, not so good.” Sloane said quickly. “Um, what if we go to your place. Mine is a huge mess and mom will be very unhappy if I invited people over.”

“Okay cool.” She said, taking out her phone. “What's your number?”

Sloane smiled softly and took the phone from her. She put it in and then handed it back as the bell rang for the period to end.

Sloane packed up her note book.

“See ya later hall monitor.” She said and headed out the door.

Usually by this point, Sloane had her earbuds in. She hated people (most of them anyway) and preferred to listen to Green Day over chatter of who's best dressed or who's having sex. But instead of their chatter on her mind, it was Hurley. The curly red hair she couldn't get out of her hair and eyes that made her feel special even if she only glanced at her. She was so wrapped up in it, she almost didn't hear two football players make a remark.

Almost.

As Sloane passed by she heard one say, “Look there's the lesbian.”

The other responded. “How do you know she's a lesbian?”

“I overheard her at lunch once. She doesn't date guys because she's ‘attracted to girls’.”

“No way man, she just needs a good dick to suck on.”

The conversation stopped Sloane cold in her tracks. She turned back to them slowly, walking back to their stationary position in the hallway. “Excuse me?” She said.

One stared at her, wide eyed. “Y-you heard that?”

“Hell yeah, I did.” She said, glaring at the two. The smaller one, obviously a freshman, seemed to step back further behind his buddy.

“Listen, why don't you suck my dick or get lost, princess.” The older one said. “Hey, Little Jerry, doesn't this hallway have a no gays allowed rule?”

She scoffed. “Seems to have an open door policy for assholes, though.”

“What did you just say to me?” He narrowed his eyes at her.

“Should I put it in simple terms for you, you homophobic, moronic, _asshole_?”

He audibly growled. “That’s it bitch.” The older football player said and started towards her.

A few people stopped in the hallway to watch, to see if there was really going to be a fight.

She took a deep breath, found her center and balled her fist, swinging up with all her might and nailing him in the jaw.

He stumbled back, holding it and looking stunned. The response was almost immediate, and a raging crowd swarmed to them. The younger one (inspired by either the crowd or his friend’s bravado) sprang forward to hit her. Sloane pulled a book from her bag. Someone on the crowd yelled out. “Holy shit, dude!” She smacked him across the face with a hardback copy of _The Song of Achilles_. There was a resounding, satisfying _smack_ as it made contact and he hit the wall. His bigger friend came at her again and she jumped, bringing the book down on his head. He again became dazed, but she threw her book aside, turned and elbowed him in the nose to hopefully scare him off. It only

seemed to bring him back to his senses, however and he lurched forward as two strong arms seized Sloane around the waist, pulling her back. She grimaced, fighting them.

“Hey, let go!” She yelled.

Merle appeared between her and the football players as she was dragged backwards through the now dispersing crowd. She watched him put his hands up in defense. “Now fellas, I’m sure we can sort this out.”

She watched the crowd dissolve and Taako in the midst, urging them away. “Nothing to see here, go back to your boring lives, go to class.”

When her captor put her down, she whirled to face them, her braid traveling around and landing on her shoulder. She found hat she was staring into the face of none other than Magnus Burnsides. She grimaced. “The hell was that for, Burnsides?!” The girl exclaimed.

She'd seen him around and she knew he hung out with Taako and Merle a lot. They were acquaintances.

"You can't fight the football team, you'd get creamed. You're lucky I pulled you out when I did, before you got a permanent mark." He sighed. "Why were you-"

"They were being rude." She said. "It makes me mad when misogynistic homophobes even open their mouth, but when they talk it just makes it worse." She crossed her arms.

He nodded. "Noble cause. I'd have to agree on the reason, but next time do it somewhere else? Maybe off campus so you don’t get sus-"

Sloane's eyes widened as the principal strode towards them. It was odd for him to leave the office at all, but apparently the fight had called his attention. Sloane looked around and saw her math teacher standing in the doorway. He must have called him, Hurley was standing near him, staring at Sloane, incredulously. She seemed stunned, but when they locked eyes, a smile spread across her face. And Sloane realized she didn't care what happened next.

So when the principal reached them and commanded Sloane's attention, saying, "Young lady, my office. _Now_." she just smiled at him.

"Yes sir."

 

Hurley exited the classroom grinning, but when she saw a throng of students yelling and cheering, her face fell.

"Oh no." She breathed and began pushing through the crowd. When she got to the inner boundaries, she paused and time seemed to slow. It was a textbook fight, something that always made her feel slightly off. But this was just a little different. She'd walked in to find a girl throwing the first punch. But not just any girl. It was Sloane.

 _Why when you see girls fight does it look so horrible, yet feel so right? She thought to herself. I shouldn’t watch this crap I should get the principal or Captain Bain at least!_ She couldn't tear her eyes away, though. Sloane had this look in her eyes of sheer determination, and Hurley couldn't help but find it oddly alluring. _I shouldn't be watching, this is against every moral fiber in my body, but with this chick..._

The punch hit him square in the jaw and Hurley blinked.

_Damn._

She watched with rapt attention as everyone around her cheered and yelled, but she was silent, watching Sloane. She couldn't help but realize over the past few days, she had been falling for Sloane.

If it were a movie, or a musical, the other kids might have been cheering to a badass rap song, but in Hurley's mind there was only a ballad, a slow moving, sweet sounding song, that fit the way Sloane moved perfectly. Nimble, light, strategy flashing through her brain at a thousand miles a minute. Hurley could just tell. The way her eyes changed as she registered the other boy was attacking and she changed tactics, pulling out her book and hitting him across the face. She looked confident now as she jumped and tried to take the big one out.

Hurley watched, not really registering anything but her. It was like she tore her focus away, throwing her book to the ground and nailing the bigger one in the nose with her elbow. When she was seized around the waist by Magnus and dragged away, the world sped up to normal time. She stepped back as the crowd dissolved while Taako pushed everyone on their way. Merle seemed to be attempting to calm the football players down and Sloane saw their math teacher smirking in the doorway.  

Sloane's eyes slowly found Hurley's, filled with worry and concern. So she gave her a smile, something that hopefully said everything she was feeling. When she smiled back, then turned, Hurley's heart suddenly sank. She'd been flirting with two girls at the same time for almost a week now. It was all really crazy. Ever since she met the Raven, her life had become a frenzy of chaos. Pretty girls, a dangerous adventure, a fight, a drag race, she was only slightly worried about this path. She was more worried about where it could lead, but so far, she didn't mind the journey. 

"Hurley?"  

She looked up to see Taako. "Oh, um, yeah?" 

"Don't fuck with her, okay? She does everything for a reason. Karma's a bitch." He said, seemingly giving a warning. 

"Wait, are you talking about Sloane or The Raven?" She asked, slightly worried. 

"Taako." She saw Merle walk up behind him and tug on his sleeve.  

Taako stared at her a second before turning back around and talking to Merle. Magnus watched Sloane be escorted by the principal before joining them. "Merle did you get anywhere with them?" 

"Maybe." He said. "Jerreeeeee seemed pretty pissed off." 

"At least it wasn't Barbara." Taako reasoned. Hurley watched them for a little while until she realize she probably needed to get to class. She sighed, heading out.  

 

Sloane signed out of school in the front office and went to the parking lot. There was only one more period left, so he just sent her home. Once she got in the car, she sighed, pulling out her phone and texting Taako. "Guess what my official sentence is?" 

30 seconds later, her phone rang, the opening of "Midnight Heart" by Watsky playing.  

She accepted the call, putting the phone up to her ear. "What the hell, aren't you in French class?" 

"Fuck French." He said. "It's group work anyway. What's up?" 

"3 days suspension." She said.  

"Oh my god, Lup!" He called.  

She heard a woman speaking French in the background. His voice sounded far away next time he spoke.  

"Madame, can you keep it down, I'm on the phone."  

"Who's on the wire?" Lup said, and suddenly she realized she was on speaker.  

"Sloane, guess what she got for fighting those jocks."  

"How much, Sloane?" Lup asked. 

"3 days of suspension." She said grinning. 

She could hear Lup gasp. "I'm so proud! Tomorrow, I'll come over after school. We can go celebrate by shopping." 

"She was my friend first, I'm coming too." Taako said. 

"Sure, if I'm not busy at Hurley's." Sloane smirked. 

"You guys are hanging out?!" Lup exclaimed. 

"Actually she got my number, we're going to work on a math project together." 

"Would you two hang up the phone and get back to work?" Someone on the other side said.  

"Ugh, fine." Lup said. "See you later." 

"Yup, we have to go. Talk later."Taako concluded and hung up. 

Sloane smiled and pulled out of the drive way. For the time being, she was using her mom's car, which was way less cool than her own. She was using it under the veneer that it was broken and getting fixed, which worked out well for Sloane, because by "paying for it herself" she seemed responsible, while its absence was also explained.  

When Sloane got home, she went straight to her room, pulling out her secret stash of chocolate and laying on the bed. She opened her phone to find a message from a new number. 

"Hey, it's Hurley. Wanna meet up at my place tonight?" 

Sloane smiled. She got her. 

"Sure. Where do you live?" 


	9. To Catch a Mockingbird

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Sorry this is so late and so short, like I said, I was away at camp, and then the weekend was hectic, so hopefully this week's will be more eventful and longer. But for now, enjoy!

Sloane pulled into Hurley’s drive way. Of course she’d already known where it was, but it was good to ask for show. She leaned forward in her seat to look up at the house which was the same as she remembered it, but somehow different now that she intended to go inside. She got out of the car, grabbing her bag and pulling it with her before closing the car door and walking towards the door.  

Before she reached it, it swung open and Hurley smiled at her softly. “Welcome.” 

Sloane gave her a lopsided smile and passed by the door. Hurley closed it and took her hand gently. “Come on, I'll show you upstairs.” 

“No meet and greet with the parents?” Sloane asked.  

Hurley’s brief silence didn't interrupt her forward motion up the stairs. 

“Dad is working late.” 

“And Mom?” 

Hurley paused again as they reached a door at the end of a hallway. 

“She's no longer… with us.” 

Sloane blinked. “Oh, Hurley I-“ 

“Save it, she's in Vegas with a guy old enough to be my grandfather.” She shrugged. “I get Christmas cards.”  

They walked into Hurley’s room, and she motioned to her bed while she pulled up to her desk. “You okay to listen to music while we work?”  

Sloane dropped her bag by the bed and sat down, taking her shoes off. “Sure, go ahead.” 

Hurley pulled up a playlist on her computer, pressing play and bringing the laptop to her bed. A soft indie song played from the speakers and Sloane raised her eyebrows slightly as she sat cross-legged on the bed and reached over to pull out her notebook.  

The rest of the songs were seemingly the same vibe, optimistic and flowing, infused with the image of flowing teens dancing in a field barefoot. It made Sloane grin, the thought of Hurley dancing in a field.  

When she glanced up, Hurley was smirking at her from over her laptop.  

“What?” Sloane mused, slightly gay from the way the girl was staring and the vision of her still dancing in her head. 

“You smile like a friend of mine.” Hurley said. 

“Yeah? Well you smirk like a know-it-all.” Sloane bantered, going back to her sketch.  

“Can I ask you something?” Hurley asked.  

“Always.” Sloane responded quite irresponsibly. She wasn't thinking at this point, focused on a particularly tricky line. 

 

“Why did you fight those guys?” 

She didn't look up from her graph paper as she spoke. “They said something rude and extremely homophobic. Instead of letting it slide, I decided to do something. I don't just want to stand still and do nothing. I want to make a difference. Figured they might listen to my fists.” 

Hurley blinked as she heard her words regurgitated at her. “You know I said that same thing to-“ 

Suddenly Sloane seemed to remember something as her eyes widened and her head snapped up. “The Raven.” She was silent for a moment, then went back to finishing the line. “You know she talks about you. And about the other day when you said that.” 

“I thought you didn't hang out with her.” Hurley said.  

“I didn't.” She finished, then passed the paper to Hurley. “But I do now.” Sloane reached forward with lithe arms, pulling the laptop into her lap and typing, seemingly pulling up a website. “That's the last one, so I can start making the graph if you give me the lines you've found.” 

Hurley picked up a stack of papers that Sloane had drawn, handing them to her. Hurley had written the equations on the paper. She smiled at her, and Sloane met her eyes as she took the paper, chuckling. 

“What?” Hurley implored with a grin. 

“You keep smiling at me.” Sloane ran a hand back through her hair. 

“You're something to smile at.” She shrugged. 

“Nice one, T.S. Eliot.” Sloane rolled her eyes.  

“Okay, yeah that was a little cheesy.” She laughed. “Sorry. I don't know why I just can't help but smile. I like hanging out with you.” 

Sloane grinned, then went back to the laptop.  

 

It was 10 o clock when Sloane finally stretched and sat back. She was halfway done. Hurley had finished and moved on to chemistry homework. Sloane realized it was late and saved the graph, picking up the papers. She moved the laptop to the bed and stood up. “Hurley, I'm gonna go, it's late, okay?”  

“Yeah, okay.” Hurley stood up and stretched as well.  

Sloane pulled her bag up on her shoulder and headed for the door. “See you around.” She flashed her a grin over her shoulder, then went down the stairs and out the door. When Sloane got into her car, she pulled out and went to Taako’s house. 

 

Hurley watched her go to the door.  

“See you around.”  

As Hurley noticed her grin a second time, she blinked, realizing it was instantly familiar to something else. She turned to glance at the graph on the laptop, the beginnings of a raven’s head in a circle. She blinked, and looks back at the door, but Sloane was gone. And Hurley had a thousand questions.


	10. The Mall Episode

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we're just gonna redact that thing I said about official update days. That's uh, yeah that's not a thing anymore?

“So I looked her dead in the eye and said ‘Listen you whore-‘” The door was kicked open and Taako and Lup strolled in, Lup stopping mid sentence. “Sloane you're still here?”  

Sloane looked up from the beanbag chair, setting her cigarette in the ashtray on the floor. “Yeah…” she said, making no effort to move the laptop on her lap. 

That night Sloane had decided to spend the night at Taako and Lup’s place. And when they’d left for school in the morning, she stayed at their place, working on schoolwork, plans to get her car back and how she was going to break the news to Hurley. She'd started laying suspicions and groundwork after her slip up last night. She realized it would be in her favor if she gave her a preview instead of making her submit it without even knowing what it was.  

“Did you even do anything?” Taako asked, flopping on the bed.  

“Yeah, I’m almost done with this math project.” She flipped around the laptop to show her progress. 

“Ooh, a Raven.” Lup smirked. “Can't say it's out of character. Are you going to tell her like that?” She asked. 

“Something along those lines.” Sloane conceded, picking her cigarette back up. 

“Okay, so are we gonna get stoned, or what?” Taako asked, narrowing his eyes at her. “I thought you stopped th-“ 

“I ran out of Nicorette, gimme a break.” Sloane grumbled. 

“We’re going to the mall.” Lup commanded.  

Sloane’s phone dinged. She picked it up and smiled. It was Hurley. 

“Tell your girlfriend that it's my turn.” Lup said, turning to a nearby mirror to look at her outfit.  

Sloane chuckled, talking a drag of the cigarette and putting the laptop to her side. “Okay, okay, fine.” She stood. “Taako you in?” 

After a moment of hesitation he sighed. “Might as well. I need a new pair of earrings for the party tomorrow night anyway.” 

“Killian’s again?” Sloane inquired as she watched him get up. 

“Yeah. Apparently the whole school is invited.” Lup said. “Her place is becoming a regular in the kegger rotation.” 

“Well good for her.” Sloane remarked. 

 

“That's a bad habit.” 

Hurley sat down at the food court table. “Not a bad habit, just a guilty pleasure.” She told Benji. 

He was working on another paper clip. He didn't even have to look up to know she had a cup of cinnamon sugar pretzel bites in her hand. They were meeting Magnus in the mall as a casual after-school hangout. 

No Raven, no Hammerhead threats, no danger. Just Hurley, Benji and Magnus… with the possibility of Merle, but so far he hadn't answered her texts.  

“You eat those when something’s on your mind.” He told her. “You should tell me what's going on.” 

“What's going on?” They heard a low voice ask. Both looked up to see Magnus above them, hands in his letterman jacket and a smile on his face. 

“Nothing.” Hurley lied. “Benji’s imagining things.” 

“I simply came to a conclusion she didn't like.” He corrected. 

“We should shop.” Hurley said hastily, standing.  

Benji followed suit, tossing his paper clip on the table: a now mangled heart, tearing at the center. Magnus took note of it as he stood, following after the two. He snatched it up, examining it as they walked away.

 

Sloane walked into the home goods part of the mall after Taako, chuckling. 

“Would you kindly fucking cut it out?” He said, soundly slightly aggravated.  

“I'm sorry, it's just  _sooo_  funny.” She said. “They're so big, they look like an elf's.” 

“I dedicate my entire life to Jesus Christ and this is the thanks I get.” He huffed. 

“You dedicated your life to Lucifer like two years ago in my basement.” Sloane corrected. “Remember the blood ritual?” 

“Oh shit, you're right.” He said. “Maybe that's why my homemade ear piercings screwed my ears up and made them all shitty.” 

“Oh come on,” Lup rolled her eyes, sporting the same swollen ears. “They'll heal.”  

Sloane had found them last night trying to pierce the tips of their ears, which obviously backfired in the way of making their ears look swollen and longer, as Sloane pointed out, like an elf’s. 

“Okay are we here to make jokes about our ears or are we going to shop for a new dress for Sloane.” Lup said. 

“Outfit.” Sloane corrected. “You're not sticking me in another tutu.” 

“Fine, we’ll get something black and scandalous.” She compromised. 

They made their way into the giant gleaming conglomerate and started towards a store that looked like it had been taken out of an alleyway, but in an edgy-grungy sort of vibe. They passed by a store that had dark shutters on the window, loud music and an overwhelming smell, even from just outside the store. Taako stopped, staring inside.  

“Taako…” Sloane said. “Trust me, you don't want to go in there.”  

“Sloane, you know how you always want to save people?” 

“Kinda?” She furrowed her brows. “What are you…”  

Sloane moved next to him, looking in the direction that he was. And then she saw it. “Oh no.” 

Magnus was standing inside, holding up two polo shirts with a ridiculous “trendy” pattern. One in blues and oranges, the other in purples and greens. It looked like a bowling alley carpet.

“I’ve got to go in there and save him.” 

“Taako, you can't.” She put a hand on his shoulder. “You'll die, it's too heterosexual in there.”  

Lup looked back at them. “Wait, what the hell?” 

“I have to save him, it's the only way, Sloane!” He rushed towards the store. “Neither of those are your color!” He called, making Magnus turn around with a confused expression. 

Lup jogged back over to watch. “Wow what an idiot.” 

“Hey is that-“ Sloane leaned over, trying to see around a corner. “Oh my god.” 

“What?” Lup peered in the same direction.  

Sloane stepped closer to the store. “It's Hurley.”  

She saw the ginger girl, a flannel tied around her waist, looking in a mirror. She smiled. “Lup, she's trying on a flannel.” Sloane hit her arm excitedly as she came into view more, turning. “Holy fuck, she's hot as hell in that flannel.” 

“Then shut up and go in there.” Lup pushed her towards the store.  

“You sure?” Sloane asked.  

“Five minutes before I go in and drag you two out.” She pointed at her.  

Sloane grinned and turned towards the store, biting her lip and heading inside. 

 

The store was enough to make an asthmatic keel over. It was like they had doused the store in every perfume they'd ever sold. Not to mention it was darker than a cave. 

Hurley tried to get closer to the mirror to see her. She looked to the left to see Magnus, now speaking to Taako trying to get him to put the shirts back on the rack. God only knew where Benji had escaped to in the labyrinth of a store. She chuckled at Taako, then heard a voice behind her.  

“I highly recommend that flannel.” She watched in the mirror as Sloane stepped from the seemingly all encompassing shadows to the small amount of light in front of the mirror. “It looks good on you.” 

Hurley smiled a little. “Are you flirting with me?” 

“Wouldn't you like to know.” She said, wearing a smug smirk as well as a beat up leather jacket and a navy blue shirt she'd sworn she'd seen before. The jeans she was wearing hugged her hips and Hurley tore her eyes away from the mirror to keep from staring. Sloane moved next to her, smiling. She reached down to feel the sleeve of the blue and black flannel. 

“Hm, soft.”  

Hurley felt the ever present question on her tongue and tried to choke it back- to no avail. “So the project is due tomorrow, and I saw your half-finished version. What does the final one look like?” 

Sloane chuckled. “A Raven.” 

“Yeah?” She cocked her head, hands coming to her hips. 

“Yeah.” Sloane stared back, cool and collected. “Can't I admire someone’s art?” 

“Why not create your own?” Hurley asked. 

Sloane let the smirk melt into a smile. “Everything is a copy of something else. Nothing is original. You think no one has ever done a raven before? Or a sun, or a moon, or a tree or a pretty girl in a flannel?”  

Hurley grinned, but rolled her eyes. “Now I really think you're flirting with me.” 

Sloane shrugged, moving backwards before turning and sticking her hands in the pockets of her leather jacket and walking towards the door, following Taako. 

“Hey wait.” 

She stopped. “Why didn't you answer my text?” 

“I got it done.” Sloane said. “Come to Killian’s party tomorrow. I'll show it to you.” 

“Pick me up at eight.” She pushed. 

Sloane turned, eyebrows raising slightly. She was apparently surprised by the show of power. But she smiled again, retaking control. “Then it's a  _date._ ” She said, leaving before Hurley could say anything more.   

Hurley blinked.  

“Holy shit, did you just get a date with her?” Magnus walked towards her.  

“Yeah… I think I did.” Hurley laughed. 

 

“So, how was your talk?” Lup elbowed her, smiling. 

“I have a date for Killian’s party now.” She shrugged.  

Taako blinked and Lup’s jaw dropped, but she continued. "I also regret every cigarette I've ever smoked, because holy shit-" Sloane coughed. "It was so hard to breathe in there."

“You're kidding.” She said. 

"About the cigarettes?"

Lup rolled her eyes. "About the  _date_."

“Well, well, well.” Taako put a hand on his hip. “So now all three of us are getting laid at the party.” They started walking again. 

“I'm not gonna bang her at the party.” Sloane rolled her eyes. “I'm gonna tell her I'm… you know…” 

“A raging homosexual?” Lup smirked. 

“Ha ha, but somehow I think she already knows.” Sloane scoffed. 

They walked into a grungy punk-ish store, Sloane starting to browse through the clearance rack.  

Sloane pushed around various stoic/sarcastic t-shirts, dresses that looked like Halloween costumes, stuff she might buy if she wasn't on a mission for something spectacular. Before, she wasn't that worried. She figured she'd sport an t-shirt, jeans, her boots, a leather jacket. Good for a keg party. But now she was taking Hurley, and everything had changed.  

Lup and Taako looked over a wall of different clothing articles, pants, belts, shirts… 

Sloane turned to look as well. She scanned the wall, and two things caught her eye. A black, off the shoulder crop top and a pair of acid washed, high waisted shorts. She tilted her head at them and noticed Lup backing up alongside her. “Which one?” 

Sloane pointed. “You see those shorts and that shirt? Wouldn't those look killer?” 

“Oh hell yeah.” She said. Lup pulled her size in them off the wall. “Try them on.”  

Sloane shrugged. “Okay.” She took the clothes and moved to the dressing room. After managing to get them on, she found a pair of gold heels being dangled over the door. 

“No.” She said almost immediately. 

“Shut up and put them on.” She heard Lup say. 

“How am I gonna run away from a murderer like that?” She reasoned. 

“Why would you need to?” Lup questioned. 

“Always be prepared.” Sloane responded, hand on her hip. 

“Fine, hold on.” Lup grumbled.  

Sloane admired herself in the mirror for a little while before she saw another pair of shoes held over the door. 

“These better?”  

She wasn't sure how, but Lup had managed to find gold, sparkly combat heels. The heel was chunky and black, and the combat boot part was made of glittery material that seemed as sturdy as shoe leather. 

“Yes, actually.” She said, surprised. The kicks were legendary to say the least. It's like when you see those kids with the shoes that light up on the bottom and you're just like “how does that even exist” but here they were, in all their glory, gold combat boots. Sloane changed her shoes and teetered for a moment before changing her stance and checking herself in the mirror. She looked like a badass. A sexy badass. A sexyass?  

She moved to the door. “I'm coming out, okay?” 

“Okay! We fully support you!” Lup called and Sloane smiled, opening the door and stepping out. 

The twins cocked their heads to the right, then the left, then smiled at each other. “You look like a slut.” They said in unison, grinning. 

“But like, a really hot slut.” Lup added, staring intently at the outfit. 

“Yeah, like put it on anyone else and they’d look trashy, but you look great.” Taako added. 

“We’re curling your hair.” Lup decided. 

“Definitely.” Taako agreed. 

Sloane grinned, then checked the price tags. Suddenly she hated it.  

“Let's pick something else.” She said. 

“What the hell? Why?” Taako asked, appalled. 

“Stop looking at the prices, I'm buying it.” Lup said. 

“Like hell you are.” Sloane said. 

“Like hell I am.” She shot back.  

“Lup, don-“ 

“Shut the hell up and let me make a fucking investment in your future.” She said. 

“Fine.” Sloane grumbled. “But when your birthday comes around, expect something dank as hell, you asshole.” 

Lup smiled. “Love you, too slut.” 

Taako grinned. “You're both whores.” 

“Shut up!” Sloane laughed. 

 

Hurley sat on the bench outside the tech store, waiting for Benji to finish talking to some girl at the tech support bar.  

Magnus sat behind her, somewhat stoic and quiet for a change as they both stared out at the throngs of people.  

"Do you like her?" He spoke up finally. 

"Sloane?" She asked. "Yeah, actually. It was a surprise, but she's a lot different from what I originally thought." 

"What about The Raven, though? You guys seemed like a thing for a while." He looked to her. 

"Yeah, she's..." Different, but still amazingly attractive. "Somewhat inaccessible, but still on my list. I'm not quite sure what to do about that." Hurley ran a hand back though her hair. "It's complicated." 

He smiled. "Do you think she'll be jealous knowing you're going to a party with another girl?" 

Hurley rolled her eyes smiling. "This is a fucking sitcom. What about you?"   
Magnus's face brightened. "I have a girlfriend. Julia, she goes to a private school in Raven's Roost." He looked down at the floor, face flooded with an expression only describable as warm, familiar comfort. Like curling up in a blanket next to a fire with someone you love and two cups of cocoa.  

It made Hurley smile.  

"She's a cheerleader, and every time we play Raven's Roost, she cheers for me as well as her team, and when she doesn’t have a game, she comes to see mine. She always smells of fresh wood, because her dad is a carpenter. He's gonna teach me how to be a carpenter, too." He looked back up at Hurley. "And the first chance I get, I'm going to buy her the most beautiful ring I can find, and I'm going to ask her to marry me. I love her." Magnus looked happier than she had ever seen him. He pulled out his wallet and form it, produced a photo strip, taken at their winter formal by the makeshift photo booth. He held it out to her and she took it, examining it. 

The photo strip depicted the two of them making funny faces, laughing and at the end, sharing a romantic kiss. Hurley smiled. Julia was a dark skinned, dark haired woman, and she had an expression that felt like home, like comfort. Hurley handed it back to him and he stared at it for a loving moment before carefully tucking it in his wallet.  

"Magnus?" She said. 

"Yeah?" 

They looked at each other. 

"I hope I have that kind of love one day." She said finally. 

His brows furrowed for a moment, but eventually his expression softened. "I think you're finding it." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay listen  
> Magnus deserves to be happy. Which is why Julia is alive.  
> "But Sloane, you're crossing timelines!!!!"  
> YEAH YKNOW WHAT I DON'T CARE MY SON DESERVES TO BE HAPPY AND HAVE A HEALTHY REALATIONSHIP


	11. An Important Update

Hey everyone! Sorry about the lack of chapters these last couple weeks. I've started band camp and it's been really busy with all my summerwork. With the influx of marching band obligations and wave of schoolwork sure to follow, lack of inspiration, and planning my own Dungeons and Dragons campaign, chapters might be slow. I won't abandon this completely, but without inspiration and time, I may slow down to a biweekly chapter? We'll have to see. I'm hard at work on the next chapter- Sloane and Hurley's first date! See you then!


	12. Like It's 1999

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the big wait, but it's finally here and hopefully I'll be updating more regularly. Fingers crossed, yall!

Sloane sat in her car, staring at the glittering combat boots on her feet. She said eight. It was 7:59. And Sloane was terrified. First date, right? Could she even call it a date? Probably not. Sloane watched the clock turn right, and ran a hand through her straight black hair. Here goes nothing. She got out of the car and make it half way up Hurley’s walk before the girl opened her door and walked onto the porch. Sloane paused. She was… pretty. Hurley stood on the porch in a pair of rolled up shorts and a grey t-shirt. The blue flannel shirt from the mall was pulled on top of the t-shirt like a jacket. Sloane realized she was staring and pulled her eyes away.

  
“Um. Ready to jet?” She asked.

  
“Sure.” Hurley met her halfway down the walk before they went to the car. Sloane opened the door for her, then got in herself.

  
As she started the car, Hurley spoke. “You look really… great.” She said.

  
Sloane smiled. “You too. Do you have a curfew?” She asked as she pulled out.   
“Midnight.” Hurley said.

  
“Well, in the interest of keeping your fairy godmother happy, we’ll have you home by 12, Cinderella.” Sloane remarked

  
She saw Hurley roll her eyes and smile.   
The drive was short and starved for conversation. Now that it was a date, the air seemed tense, and Sloane felt as though the pressure was going to blow her mother’s car to bits.

  
“Did you, ah, turn in the project?” Sloane asked.

  
“Yeah. The teacher seemed impressed, so we probably did really well. Thanks to your artistic muse, I expect an A.” Hurley smiled at her and Sloane felt a weight off her chest. She glanced back at the duffel bag in the back seat and took a deep breath, getting ready for one hell of a night.

  
By the time they got there, the party was in full swing, and Sloane grinned, still wondering how it could be. She pulled up to the house, cutting the ignition and gazing over at Hurley.

  
Her eyes were wide and staring at the flashing lights inside the house, no doubt hit by the pounding bass for the first time. Her skin was bathed in the colored light and she became a rainbow to Sloane. Almost unattainable, but beautiful and desirable still. And most of all, undeniably, wondrously gay.

  
Hurley turned to her and she thought she might kiss her. Maybe. But she didn’t. “Cmon,” she said instead. “Let’s go in.” Sloane opened her door, regretting the moment she cut short.

 

Hurley knew the parties that happened were wild, but she always thought of them as brash affairs, not this colorful extravaganza. She was blinded and seeing for the first time all at once. When Sloane led her through the door, she was greeted with a pounding bass in her chest. She watched Sloane get compliments and greetings, and when the raven haired girl reached for her hand, she realized she was happy to just be there. With her. Hurley gripped her hand like she’d float off if she didn’t and Sloane looked back at her with a smile that said she felt the same. Hurley felt her heart beat faster.

  
Sloane took her to a couch that housed people she recognized as Sloane’s friends. And Barry. Lup came up from behind, slinging an arm around her.   
“Hiii, glad you’re here, now I don’t have to dance alone.” Lup said, noticeably drunk.

  
She saw Sloane’s eyes go to Barry who held up a pair of keys. Sloane visibly relaxed at the security that Lup wouldn’t be driving and smiled at her.

  
“Do you wanna dance?” She asked Lup, looking at Hurley for confirmation.

  
Hurley chuckled, waving them away. “Go, I’ll be here.” She said, and saw Sloane nodding gratefully as Lup whisked her away. Hurley took a seat next to Barry and smiled at him. On his other side was Carey and Killian, seemingly in their own little world.

  
“Hey. You’re Lup’s boyfriend, right?” She asked.

  
“Uh, yeah! Barry Bluejeans.” He said, holding out a hand. “Are you Sloane’s DD?”

  
Designated Driver… it took a moment for Hurley to shake his hand and put the pieces together.

  
“Oh, no! We’re… here together.” She said, hoping it was right, and she wasn’t just a designated driver. Mainly because she didn’t know how to drive a stick shift.

  
“So… Sloane’s staying sober tonight?” He asked, seemingly appalled. “Usually she gets hammered and crashes at Taako’s. You must be really special.” He said.  
Hurley let her eyes drift to the dance floor, where Sloane was holding up a laughing Lup. She smiled and looked at Hurley.

  
“Yeah I guess I am.”

 

Sloane looked back to Lup and chuckled. “How are you already drunk?”

  
“Started early.” She grinned.

  
“Great, right when I’m sober and I need your advice, you’re hammered.” She smirked.

  
“I still give great drunk advice.” She put her arms around Sloane’s neck, swaying and Sloane grinned, putting her hands on Lup’s hips. It was normal for these kinds of things to happen, especially when Taako wasn’t there.

  
“Hey, where is he- Taako, I mean?” She asked.

  
“He’s out with Kravitz. Came into town last minute.”

  
“Shit, Barry taking you home?” She asked.

  
“Yup. Unless you’re free.”

  
Sloane nodded to Hurley and Lup smiled. “Oh yeah. Hey, are you gonna tell her tonight?”

  
“Yup, got everything I need in the bag.” Sloane stopped dancing, and Lup looked at her with caring eyes.

  
“Don’t worry, you pretty much can’t fuck this up. And if she hates you, then fine! If she tells the whole school- who cares. Taako and I will bail you out of jail and we can start vandalizing things under a new name in the next town over. We could be like- the Tres Rowdy Girls or something I don’t know… except Taako is a boy… so maybe Killian instead? Whatever, this is gonna fucking legendary, babe.” She said.

  
And Sloane felt… comforted. For once, she realized that it felt just as good to be around her friends as it did to be racing or spray painting stuff on the school.

 

And all too soon, 11:45 rolled around. By this time, Barry, Lup, Sloane, Carey, Killian and Hurley were all sitting in a circle, playing Truth or Dare. Hurley had taken one singular shot of Grey Goose, and Sloane had kissed everyone in the circle, besides Hurley, who at that point used the restroom. Sloane checked her watch. “Oh, cmon Hall Monitor, gotta get you home.”

  
“Oh, yeah thanks.” She said and the two stood up.

  
“Bye guys.” Sloane said.

  
“Thanks for letting me play, it was nice to meet you all.” Hurley remarked.

  
There were scattered, but sincere goodbyes and the two walked out the door, Sloane pulling her keys from her pocket. She saw Hurley shiver out of the corner of her eye. Curse these fashion over function flannels and their inability to retain heat!

  
As they walked toward the vehicle, Sloane pulled off her leather jacket and put it around Hurley’s shoulders. Hurley looked up, a little surprised, but smiled anyway. “Thanks.”

  
“No problem. You looked chilly.” She smiled as she opened he car door.  
Of course she knew they were gonna be in a car soon, but hey, chivalry wasn’t dead yet in Sloane’s mind. She closed the door behind Hurley, then got in herself and closed the door. Sloane stared the car, pulling out.

  
When they reached Hurley’s house, she walked her to the door, and they said their goodbyes. When Hurley slipped inside, Sloane slipped into the back of her mother’s car. She changed into her black overcoat and her Raven mask before jumping the fence and asking into her back yard.

 

Hurley sighed, smiling to herself. She laid on her bed and held the leather jacket she’d “accidentally” forgotten to give back like a stuffed animal. She was almost about to change into her pajamas when she heard a sound on her computer. The ding of a new instant message. She sat up and went to the computer, opening the message. All that was in it was an attachment to an image file. She opened it up and saw that it was the project she’d done with Sloane, the words “Look outside” inserted around the circle. She stood, going to the window. She opened it and saw The Raven, standing in a black long coat, on her lawn. “How was your date tonight?” She asked.

  
“Shit.” She whispered under her breath. “Um, it was good. Listen, I was going to tell you, I just-”

  
The Raven held up a hand. “Don’t even worry about it. I have something to show you. I think it’s time to come clean.”  
Hurley watched, confused as The Raven took off her jacket, revealing the same outfit Sloane had worn to the party. Then she reached for her mask, pulling it off as well. She shook out her hair and looked up.

  
Sloane looked up at her, a worried expression on her face.

  
“I’m The Raven. Wanna be my girlfriend?”

 


	13. Girls Will Be Girls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi  
> Sorry  
> It's done now,  
> Please don't hate me

The next day passed by quicker than Sloane anticipated and soon, she was on her way to Lup’s house. She made her way inside the unlocked house and down to the basement. It was furnished, but not exactly finished. The slate grey concrete walls were bare, and there was piping overhead that gave it a bare loft feeling. There was crème carpet and an entertainment center surrounded by two soft brown couches and a matching recliner. The twins usually used it for movie night, because they’d installed a mini fridge and a popcorn machine in the back of the room. They kept talking about getting a movie theater counter and a soda dispenser to complete it. Lup always talked about how cool it’d be to have their own movie theatre. However, tonight, they’d plugged in a laptop and connected it to the TV. Hurley was standing next to them and when Sloane walked in, she looked up, smiling. Sloane grinned.

  
“I’m The Raven. Wanna be my girlfriend?”

  
Sloane realized how stupid the words sounded coming out of her mouth, but she needed to say them. Who would she be if she didn’t?   
Hurley was silent for a long time. Sloane couldn’t tell from her expression what she was thinking, and she was a little scared.  
“I… I fucking knew it!” She exclaimed. Sloane almost laughed. “The signs were all there, I just didn’t put it together, but I knew, I knew it!”  
“So about the girlfriend thing…”  
“Oh.” Hurley calmed down, blushing a deep red. “Well, yeah. I’d like that. I’d like it a lot.” She stood on the lawn for a while, and it was silent again.  
Sloane started. “I should go, probably.”  
“No, wait, come on up. I don’t want you… I don’t want you to leave.” She said.   
Sloane smiled and started towards the back door.

  
Hurley walked towards her, leaning up on tiptoes to kiss her cheek and Sloane smiled. Lup and Taako looked at them, then at each other with a knowing look. Killian and Carey padded down the stairs soon enough and Sloane took control of the laptop presentation. She took a deep breath and clicked the spacebar. Sloane’s car popped up in the screen.   
“Last week, my car was stolen. My lifeblood, my baby.” She said. “We have it on good authority is was taken by the Hammerheads.” She clicked to a picture of the Hammerheads in the yearbook as part of the football team.  
Taako booed from his recliner, and Sloane smiled, appreciation the solidarity.   
“Tomorrow, we are going to infiltrate the Hammerhead’s base of operations.” She clicked to a picture of an old abandoned garage. After breaking and entering, they’d turned the dilapidated building into their clubhouse. She pulled up blue prints of he old building. There was an entrance, lobby-like place and three rooms off shooting from it. Sloane pulled out a laser pointer. She’d been preparing for this day. She pointed to the entrance. “We go in through here, into to the lobby.” Her pointer moved to the small room on the left. “This is their hangout room. Let’s try and avoid it, because most likely, that’s where people would be.” She moved the red dot to the room on the left. “This is the storage garage, they have my car, it’s most likely in here, and there should be a key hook, but if not…” her pointer moved to the middle, largest room, that had one much smaller room coming off of it. “This is the garage, where they work in their cars,” her pointer moved to the small room. “This is where the keys would be. It’s almost like an office of sorts.” She looked out at them. “So, Taako, Lup, you’re going in with me and Hurley, Carey, you’re keeping outdoor watch, Killian, you’ll be just inside to warn us and help us get away if needed. Did you guys come up with a signal?”  
Carey nodded. “My anaconda don’t want none,”  
Killian finished. “Unless you got buns, hun.”  
Everyone was silent for a moment. Sloane stared at them in disbelief, then nodded. The two just smiled at each other and highfived.   
“Taako, Lup, you’ll go in the rooms with us and stand watch outside the doors, if you hear Killian’s signal, you signal each other, and us. Did you guys make a signal?”  
Taako looked away seemingly upset.   
Lup blinked. “They stole ours. So no. We don’t.”   
“We’ll make one.” Taako said. “But also, why do we need so many signals and look outs?”  
“I hoped you’d ask.” Sloane grinned. “We’re not sure how many entrances and exits they have put it, we’re oblivious. This ensures that if they evade one of us, the others will see and signal the rest.” She said proudly.  
“Then what’s your symbol?” Lup asked.  
Hurley and Sloane smiled at each other and bellowed out a loud. “Hah, gaaAAAAAAYYY!” The two burst into a fit of laughter, and the others rolled their eyes.

It was long into the night before they got up to go to the warehouse.   
“Hey, I got the masks.” Sloane told them. The clock read 3:25am and she smiled. This whole thing was crazy. She pulled out a Party City bag from her overnight duffel bag and started handing out the masks. Lup and Taako had requested masks that looked like the face of mongooses(?) so she got them a dark brown one and a light brown one.   
“I’ll take the dark brown one, because my hair is naturally blonde.” He said.  
Lup looked at him offended. “I bleach my hair one time to dye it pink, and I never live it down!” She took the light brown one. “I’m gonna shove this up your pretentious ass when we’re done.” Lup said.  
Carey got a blue and green dragon mask. She seemed pleased with it, putting it on and bumping Killian’s arm with her new snout.  
Killian’s exact words had been, “surprise me.” So when Sloane pulled out a unicorn mask… boy was she she surprised. Carey and Hurley held back laughter while the twins burst into fits of laughter.   
Sloane smiled and Killian smiled back in way that made Sloane think she was plotting how to get back at her.   
There was only one mask left in the bag.

  
She laid next to Hurley on the bed, running her fingers through her hair like she’d wanted to do since they met.   
“Hey, we’re all getting masks tomorrow based on the animals we think represent us, know, like my raven?” Sloane asked.  
“Yeah.” Hurley said.  
“What do you think you’d want?” She asked.  
“Well, remember how when we were getting the Hammerhead file?” Hurley turned over, propping herself up on one arm. “And you called me stubborn like a ram, and I told you it was a mule.”  
“You want a mule mask?” Sloane raised an eyebrow.   
“No,” Hurley chuckled. “A Ram mask.” She said, smiling softly. “I want to be The Ram.”

  
Sloane pulled out a detailed Ram’s mask, that she obviously did not get at Party City.  
The other masks were kinda shitty, flimsy rubber, badly painted and hardly realistic, but this one was well made, in the same style that Sloane’s was.  
“I got my mask guy to do it, he thinks it was rushed, but I think it looks nice.” She told her awkwardly, and Hurley just beamed up at her.  
“Thank you…” She put the mask on, feeling how it’s features differed from her own.   
“Let’s go.” She said, putting on her Raven mask. She grinned when she felt the familiar touch of the fabric on her face. After wearing it for so long, she almost felt like it was an extension on her own self. She slipped her beaten leather jacket on and popped the collar. “Time to get movin’.”  
The drive to the outskirts of town usually would have been a long one, but with nobody on the road the packed car moved at an illegal pace. Nothing to shame Vin Diesel over, but enough that cops would definitely revoke Sloane’s license. The five person vehicle looked like a clown car when the six of them got out- especially Killian.  
Sloane stared up at the warehouse before closing the car door and walking to the main entrance. There was a large padlock on the chain holding the twin doors together. “Bolt cutters.” She said and Carey opened the car’s trunk, pulling out a large pair of bolt cutters and passing them to Killian. Killian walked up to the lock with the bolt cutters and positioned them to cut. She looked to Sloane, who cracked her knuckles.   
“Let’s fuck shit up.” She said.  
The lock snapped and the group advanced. Carey went left to find a tree, and the others made their way inside. As they slipped through the doors, Killian took a position just inside the doorway and Sloane took stock of the setting. They were in the lobby part. Okay, the plans had been right. She started to the right and tried opening the door. It was locked, Sloane raised her foot to kick it in, but Taako put his hand up.   
“Hold on, I have a cantrip for this.” He smiled and Lup snorted. He pulled a bobby pin from his hair and jammed it in the lock. He twisted it around a little until it clicked and then opened.  
Taako stood up and stepped back. He opened the door and grinned. “Alohamora, bitches.”   
Sloane smiled but it faded as she charged ahead, walking in. She saw the black car and ran he short distance to it. “Baby!” She hugged the car as best she could without the side mirror impaling her. All of a sudden, she seemed struck by something. She raced to the front of the vehicle and put her hands on the hood. “Hurley, Taako, find me keys. Those sons of bitches better have left my core in here.”   
The two spread out and Lup stayed by the door as Sloane popped the hood. She nervously chewed on the inside of her cheek as she examined the car. The arcane core was still there and everything seemed to be in order.  
“It’s all here… anybody find my keys?” She asked.   
“Nothing.” Hurley called back.   
“Goose egg.” Taako said, kicking a box that skidded across the floor. “Let’s try the office.”  
The four filed out of the room, Sloane taking a last longing look at the vehicle. They moved to the working garage, a big open room with two car lifts in the middle of the room. Tool benches were pushed against certain parts of the wall, blueprints spread across them, and tools holding them down. There were additional tools all around the cars and parts near them. The place was a real pigsty.   
Lup stayed by the entrance, and they moved to the back. They reached a locked steel door. Taako did his bobby pin trick and they slipped inside the small room, Taako staying by the open door and letting it close behind them. Sloane felt along the walls for a light switch and flicked it once she found it. A dim bulb illuminated the small room. A desk was pushed up against the wall, a beat up office chair pulled up to it. Next to it there were shelves, some holding files between chipped bookends, and some holding boxes of rare parts. Above the desk was a key rack, with four different sets of keys. Sloane moved to it and picked up the one she recognized off the rack. A dark plum key, with a little Raven figurine standing on a skull hanging off the loop by a metal circle coming of his head. There was a long black lanyard that she grabbed and wrapped around her hand. The gesture felt familiar. Like home. She smiled.

Hurley watched as Sloane smiled and she couldn’t help but smile too. Everything had happened fast, Sloane becoming her girlfriend, revealing she was the Raven, breaking into the Hammerhead’s base… but in this moment, Sloane gripping the key, smiling, time seemed to slow. Hurley watched and felt a tugging in her gut. The way she looked at the keys, like they were so important. She wanted Sloane to look at her like that. But suddenly, like a snapping branch, her eyes hardened, and Hurley realized that there was a lot more to Sloane than she thought. Sloane’s gaze turned to the door and she started to it. “Let’s go, Hurley.”  
“Whatever you say.” She told her. She wasn’t disenchanted, she realized it would take time to build a relationship and break down every wall. She knew it would be hard, but that was all part of a relationship. They passed through the door and out into the shop again. Hurley saw Lup at the end of the shop, standing half in the lobby. And then, she and Killian looked to each other, seemingly confused. Hurley stopped and she heard it too, the distinctive start up of an engine- Sloane’s car’s engine. Sloane continued, unaware until she saw Lup and Killian rush towards the storage garage’s door. Sloane suddenly started sprinting to it, Taako and Hurley in tow.   
Hurley felt her heart beating a million times a minute and she could barely hear herself think as Sloane threw open the door, and the six rushed inside.   
In the driver’s seat of the purring car sat Maarvey, slicked back hair, leather jacket collar popped and a lit cigarette between his teeth. There was a shiny gold key in the ignition and a look in Maarvey’s eyes that said “Checkmate.”   
Though the odds of him thinking checkmate or knowing what it meant were slim.   
“Well, what do we have here. The Raven’s got a whole band of critters, now doesn’t she?” He said.   
“Fuck you.” Sloane uttered through gritted teeth. “Give me my ride back, Maarvey.”   
He laughed. “You know, I don’t think it’s really yours anymore. The arcane core is mine, and it’s inside the car, so the car is mine.” He smirked. “You really should lock your garage door.”  
Hurley noticed that the drive-in garage door was up, and she knew what was going to happen. She tried to think of what to do, but she couldn’t.   
“Give. Me. My fuCKING CAR BACK, YOU SON OF A BITCH!” Sloane screamed, and Hurley blinked, stepping back a little. She didn’t know anyone, much less Sloane, could scream like that.   
Maarvey sneered. “Maybe next time… dollface. See you around.” He revved the engine and Sloane stepped forward. He quickly sped out of the garage and Sloane ran a couple steps before realizing she couldn’t follow. Hurley watched as hot, angry tears formed in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks.   
Her heart ached.  
“I’m sorry I yelled.” Sloane whispered.  
“Things got scary for a second there, Sloane.” Lup said, sounding concerned. “Are you… okay?”  
Sloane was silent for a long time.

She wouldn’t tell anyone she felt like the bad guy. To get so close and be taken so far… it had snapped something in her for a second. For a moment, she didn’t care if anyone saw how upset she was. Sloane felt a hand slip into hers and a thumb wipe tears off her cheek. She looked up to see Hurley, slightly shaken and a little scared, but so, so worried about her.  
“Hey.” Sloane said, putting a hand on her cheek. Hurley’s eyes met hers. “You know I’d never hurt you, okay? I snapped for a second, but I’d never yell at you like that.”   
She saw Hurley nod. “I know.”   
Sloane reached down and they hugged. Tightly, holding on for dear life. Revenge could wait. Right now she just wanted to hold the girl she treasured. The girl who’d charmed her from the start. Hurley. She wanted to hold Hurley until she couldn’t think of anyone or anything else.

 

 


	14. Chapter 13: Dungeons and Lesbians

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhhhhhhhh I’m so sorry  
> I have been so so so so busy and this chapter sucks I’m sorryyyyyyyyy  
> It’s a filler? Idk I’m sorry

Sloane ran a hand back through her hair roughly, pushing back her bangs as she stared at the math problem. She was obviously distraught. Hurley noticed and frowned, moving her chair over to her. “Hey, what’s up?” She said, turning the paper.   
“It’s hard.” She told her, pouting. “Help.”   
Hurley smiled. “Okay, let’s look at this…”

It had only been a few days since Sloane’s outburst in the garage, and she’d been acting strange ever since, moody, sad, determined. She seemed solely focused on the car, getting it back. In a sense, Hurley understood.  
She’d once heard that Beethoven’s eventual hearing loss was the worst thing to happen to him. That it wouldn’t have been as bad as if it had been suddenly taken away from him. Maybe it’s what made him crazy, but if he had woken up one day, suddenly without being able to do the thing he wanted most in the world. She thought he might’ve gone crazier sooner.   
She figured Sloane might be going a little crazy too. To be out of the race for so long… must be killing her.   
Sloane was staring at the page, and looked like she was about to snap.   
“Hey.” Hurley said. “Why don’t we play a video game tonight.” Sloane furrowed her brows, looking at her.  
“A video game?”  
“Yeah, there’s this game online where you and your friends can play as fantasy characters and fight goblins and win treasure and stuff. It’s like Dungeons and Dragons, but online. Could help relieve some of that tension you’ve been carrying around… killing some virtual stuff!” She suggested.  
Sloane nodded. “Dungeons and Dragons… never played it, but okay. We can try it. But the gang has to come too. It’s more fun with them there.” She said and Hurley smiled.

Sloane plugged her earbuds into the computer, and loaded up the file on her computer. Hopefully this wouldn’t be too hard. She wasn’t exactly tech savvy.   
However, when everything was said and done, she was pretty happy with her character. She’d made a half-elf theif, with dark skin and curly black hair, and given her a whip. She actually got kinda excited about it. Her username was TheRaven, for obvious reasons, and when she entered the game, she texted Hurley. She was dropped into the starter town, a place called Neverwinter, and looked around her. There was a fair amount of virtual people around her, all with names hovering above them. A fish-human hybrid with blue skin rushed past her, the name “fishgrl” floating above her head. Another girl, human and scantily clad, followed, “railenrage” floating above her. Sloane chuckled. The game dinged in her earbuds with a guild request. She opened it and saw it was from “Hurles45”, which made her chuckle. She accepted it and her ears sprang to life with conversation.   
“-fucking Bye Bye Birdie reference?!” She heard Taako say.  
“Do you know how hard it is to come up with a name?! Nothing is good with fucking ‘Chaalupa’!” Lup responded.  
“Hey, guys?” Sloane interjected.   
“Oh, great!” She heard Hurley. “We can all meet at the guild hall now.” The girl said. “Just click the house icon in the toolbar.”  
Sloane did so, and was taken to a loading screen. “Okay, so who’s here?”  
“Taako, obviously.”  
“And Lup.”  
“Yo.”  
“That’s Carey, and Killian here as well.  
“And of course, Hurley.”  
Everyone called out their names and Sloane nodded. “Okay, cool. What classes did you guys pick?”  
“Taako and I are wizards. My school is Evocation- which means fire shit, and his is transmutation? I think, whatever. Anyway, I went with a red robe and these killer high heel boots.” Lup said, sounding excited.  
“I picked out a green tunic with a brown belt, pants and boots. Because it matched I guess, but yknow I got a hat and whatever and some spells, can we get killing already?” Taako commented.  
The loading screen gave way to a view of all of them standing in a guild hall. Sure enough, Taako and Lup had given accurate descriptions. Over Taako’s head floated the username “taakotuesday” And over Lup’s: “luptheloop”. Carey appeared to be a lizard looking figure, outfitted with leather armor and daggers, which she confirmed with the statement. “I picked a badass Dragonborn rogue.” And sure enough, her name was “dragonzord”.   
“I wanted to be a half-orc fighter.” Killian said and Sloane turned to her character. A towering half-orc with dark hair and filled tusks stood before her. She had chain mail armor and a menacing crossbow. “I think it turned out well.” Above her character floated the username “killerkillian”.  
“This is gonna be sick.” Sloane grinned.   
“Glad you’re excited.”   
She turned to see Hurley, red hair, and monk garb. She was holding a gemstone that her character extended to Sloane’s. It was a light blue, like a digital diamond. “Here, you can buy these things called battlewagons in game, and race them. Figured you might want one, and then we could drive it around and raid dungeons.” She said. Sloane blinked and smiled, adding it to her inventory.  
“Thanks.” She said. “I really appreciate this… a lot.” She said.   
“C’mon everyone, let’s go buy a battlewagon.” Hurley said.

The raid went well enough. Not only did they get a bunch of gold, but they defeated the Lich King and his 10 trials. They ripped through it.   
Hurley seemed more than pleased. “That was so great! Okay, okay, what now.”  
Sloane chuckled. “Hurles, as much as I’d love to, we have school tomorrow and it’s hella late, let’s all get some shut eye?”  
“I agree.” Killian said. “I can barely keep my damn eyes open. I’m logging off.”   
Sloane soon heard the sound of a party member log off.  
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Hurley said. “Night everyone, see you tomorrow.”  
One by one they all logged off until it was just Hurley and Sloane. “Hey, Hurley.” She said.  
“Yeah?”  
“Thanks. This was fun.” Sloane said, and logged off.

 


End file.
